LightNews — News, ranked by scholars

Jeremy

@jdee006.bsky.social

Italian renaissance maiden and flowers.
A small Italian 15th century Sgraffito Ferrara Maiolica bowl.
#15thcentury #maiolica #ferraramaiolica #renaissancepottery #renaissanceceramics #maiolicapottery #sgraffito #sgrafittopottery #renaissanceitaly

November 22, 2024 at 4:22 PM

Cathie Dunn – Historical Fiction & History 🥰📚

@cathiedunn.bsky.social

💕Welcome to Day 1!💕

Today begins a sumptuous new #blogtour: Renaissance Rivals by Karen Essex!

Discover the intriguing story of two remarkable Renaissance ladies, whose rivalry is legendary!

thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2026/07/blog...
#RenaissanceItaly #HistoricalFiction #WomenInHistory

July 29, 2026 at 12:45 PM

Claire McAlpine 📚

@clairewords.bsky.social

Like Lucrezia de' Medici in The Marriage Portrait by #MaggieOFarrell #SofonisbaAnguissola was a painter in 16th century #RenaissanceItaly mixing her own pigments, making herself a #womanpainter the focus of the painting, depicting another woman and child in the centre of the portrait she works on.

Michael @mdstamper.bsky.social · Mar 4

Self-Portrait at the Easel by Sofonisba Anguissola (Italian) - Oil on canvas / 1556 - Łańcut Castle (Poland) #womeninart #art #portraitofawoman #selfportrait #oilpainting #womanartist #ItalianArtist #SofonisbaAnguissola #ŁańcutCastle #LancutCastle #ItalianRenaissance #femaleartist #womanpainter

In this 1556 self-portrait, Italian Renaissance artist Sofonisba Anguissola shows herself in the act of painting, applying mixed pigments to a canvas that depicts the Virgin and Christ Child tenderly kissing. In Renaissance artworks, the female figure would normally be the subject of the painting. Here Anguissola establishes herself as the creator too.

She gazes outward—as if we have just interrupted her in mid-stroke. Her expression is calm and reserved. A maulstick (a common device used to support the artist’s hand) held in her left hand supports her right hand as she touches the brush to the canvas.

The artist wears a simple black dress—possibly to connote modesty and virtue. Her simple fashion embodies the woman of court, as outlined by Baldassare Castiglione in his Book of the Courtier (1528):

"I wish this [Court] Lady to have knowledge of letters, music, painting, and to know how to dance and make merry; accompanying the other precepts that have been taught the Courtier with discreet modesty and with the giving of a good impression of herself. And thus, in her talk, her laughter, her play, her jesting, in short, in everything, she will be very graceful, and will entertain appropriately, and with witticisms and pleasantries befitting her, everyone who shall come before her."

Born in 1532 in Cremona, Northern Italy, her father, Amilcare, encouraged her to train with artist Bernardino Campi. In the 16th century, art was a predominantly male occupation. At that time, Anguissola (also known as Sophonisba Angussola or Sophonisba Anguisciola) did not comply with roles that were traditionally assigned to women, such as a mother and a homemaker. Instead, as a strong and independent woman, she decided to fulfill her ambition of becoming a respected artist ... and helped pave the way for other female artists.

Anguissola herself appears often in her own works with at least twelve self-portraits (though seven are believed to have been lost).

March 13, 2025 at 6:58 AM

pattystoria.bsky.social

@pattystoria.bsky.social

È uscita l'edizione integrale delle lettere di Ippolita Maria Sforza, duchessa di Calabria.
#Medievalsky
#RenaissanceItaly

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July 8, 2025 at 8:49 AM