That's Doctor Bad-Ass to You

We are aware of countless stories about women who take care of the home and family while their husbands pursue successful careers. Sometimes these women even manage a portion or all of the 'back office' activities so that the husband can concentrate on the product or growing the business. It's been interesting to learn that in the 16th century we have several examples of men that helped run the household and manage the business side of the studio so that their talented wives could be free to paint. A recent post discussed Diana Scultori and how she and her husband worked together and ran a successful business. We also have learned that Sofonisba Angussola's husband supported her career for many years.

This trend continues with our next artist - Renaissance painter Lavinia Fontana. Lavinia was a portrait artist. Not unusual, because by this time portraits were typical for women painters.  However, Lavinia also received commissions for religious and mythological works, which sometimes included female nudes. 

Self Portrait, Lavinia Fontana

Lavinia was born in 1552 in Bologna. She was trained by her father Prospero Fontana and was active in Bologna and Rome. She is regarded one of the few, and maybe the first female career artist in Western Europe.  She relied on commissions for her income; an income which was used to support her family. Her husband -  Gian Paolo Zappi - was a fellow artist and student of her father. As Lavinia's success grew Gian assisted with her work,  served as her agent and raised their eleven children.  

Yes, eleven children. That didn't slow Lavinia down a bit. In addition to everything else, she got her doctorate from the University of Bologna, and she also became a member of the Academy of Rome. 

Both financially and critically successful, Lavinia's paintings were characterized by their poised compositions, attention to detail and the use of a delicate palette.  In her self portrait (above) you can see the careful attention the the placement of the figure, the detail of the clothing and the choice of color. Here she is impeccably dressed in lace and jewels. She paints herself as a scholar, studying items from an archaeological find. 

Portrait of the Gozzadini Family,
 Lavinia Fontana

Lavinia was skilled not only at painting realistic images but also capturing the subject(s) mood. Her "Portrait of the Gozzadini Family" (left), is a psychologically complex image. it is said that this painting was commissioned by the father of the two women in the painting as a reminder that that the money they brought with them into their marriages is ultimately of their own inheritance, and not to be withheld from them by their husbands. 

Antonietta Gonzalez, Lavinia Fontana

Another unusual work is the somewhat unsettling painting of Antonietta Gonzalez. Little Antonietta  (as well as her father, two sisters and other family members) had hypertrichosis (also commonly called "werewolf syndrome"). This is a rare genetic disorder which causes an abnormal amount of hair on the body. While this could have resulted in the family being outcast, in fact they were welcomed in to the courts of Europe. Lavinia painted Antonietta in 1595 and you can almost feel the compassion for the child flowing from the paint brush. Her eyes are inquisitive and her faint smile sweet and trusting.

Lavinia had the largest body of work for a female artist up to this time - 135 paintings have been attributed to her. Her Patrons were Pope Gregory XIII, Pope Clement VII, Pope Paul V. She was the recipient of a rare honor in 1603 when Pope Clement IX summoned her to an audience in the papal palace. Clement commissioned an altarpiece for the church of San Paolo Fuori le Mura. The resulting was a 20 - foot altarpiece titled "The Stoning of St. Stephen Martyr"  and became the best known of her work. Unfortunately, the church burned in 1823 and the painting was lost.

Lavinia Fontana was a wildly talented artist. She was a creative, intellectual woman who was an inspiration for artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi and Elisabetta Sirani (who we will learn more about in the upcoming weeks). But most importantly, she was a bad-ass that portrayed herself as a painter, a musician and a scholar.

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Selected Sources

Great Women Artists. Phaidon Editors

Lavinia Fontana Facts. https://biography.yourdictionary.com/lavinia-fontana

McIver, Katherine A. “Lavinia Fontana's ‘Self-Portrait Making Music.’” Woman's Art Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, 1998, pp. 3–8. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1358647.