Prado celebrates two female painters of 16th century Italy: Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana

As part of the Prado Museum’s bicentennial celebrations, the celebrated Madrid museum venue presents from October 22, 2019 to February 2, 2020 the exhibition Sofonisba Anguissola y Lavinia Fontana. Historia de dos pintoras.

An exhibition that aims to bring together for the first time the most significant works of two of the most important painters in the history of art of the second half of the sixteenth century: sixty-five works, including fifty-six paintings, from over twenty important European and American collections.

Through these masterpieces we will trace the artistic journey of the two women artists, who were recognized in the era contemporary with them, but lost their notoriety over time, making their personalities increasingly blurred. Starting with their self-portraits, the exhibition will unfold, illustrating to visitors the role and remarkable abilities of the two artists.

Among the works on display will be Lavinia Fontana ’s Self-Portraitin the Studio from the Uffizi Galleries, Sofonisba Anguissola ’sSelf-Portrait at the Easel from Poland, Sofonisba’s portrait of Queen Anne of Austria housed at the Prado Museum, Lavinia Fontana ’sSelf-Portrait at the Spinet from the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca in Rome, Lavinia Fontana ’s Noli me tangere from the Uffizi Galleries, and the same artist’s Mars and Venus from the Fundación Casa de Alba in Madrid.

The final section of the exhibition includes several masterpieces that demonstrate the notoriety achieved by the two women painters: Glorias inmortales, triunfos y heroicas hazañas de ochocientas cuarenta y cinco mujeres, antiguas y modernas, a text by Pedro Pablo de Ribera published in 1609 that includes insights into the two artists. Also, the visit Sofonisba Anguissola received in Palermo from van Dyck evidenced by the page of a travel diary and a medal with the effigy of Lavinia Fontana found in Rome in 1611.

The exhibition is curated by Leticia Ruiz of the Department of Spanish Painting.

For info: www.museodelprado.es

Image: Lavinia Fontana, Self-portrait at the spinet (1577; oil on canvas; Rome, Accademia Nazionale di San Luca)

Prado celebrates two female painters of 16th century Italy: Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana

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