Angvisola, Sofonisba

Sofonisba was born in Cremona ( Lombardy ) and was named after the Carthaginian aristocrat Sofonisba . She was the oldest of seven children, six of whom were girls (one of the sisters - Lucia Angvisola ). Her father, Amilcar Anguissola, belonged to the chosen aristocratic circle of Genoa . Sofonisba's mother, Bianca Ponzone, was also from a well-known aristocratic family. She died early when Sofonisba was only five years old. The most famous picture of the early period of creativity of Sofonisba is “Portrait of the artist’s sisters playing chess” , created in 1555 . She was a student of the Cremonian artist Giulio Campi , worked in a manner so close to his style that some paintings by Campi were attributed to Angwissola until the 60s of the XX century (in particular, “The Game of Chess” ).

Already well-known, Angvisola traveled to Milan in 1558, where she painted a portrait of the Duke of Alba , who recommended it to the Spanish King Philip II. The following year, Sofonisba was invited to the Spanish court, which was a recognition of her talent.

Sophonisba Angvisola was 27 years old when she left her family and came to Spain to the king’s court. In the winter of 1559-1560 , she arrived in Madrid to serve as the court artist and court lady of Queen Elizabeth Valois , the third wife of King Philip II , whom he had just married. Soon she won the respect and trust of the young queen.

Angvisola spent the following years, mainly creating official court portraits, including the Queen and other members of the royal family (sister of Philip II Juan and son - Don Carlos ). Her portraits of Elizabeth Valois and Anna of Austria (the fourth wife of Philip II) are dynamic and full of life.

On her way home to Cremona, Sofonisba met Orazio Lomellino, the former captain of the ship on which she sailed. They fell in love at first sight and soon got married in January 1580 in Pisa . Sofonisba was 47 years old at that time, and her husband was much younger than her. The husband strongly supported Sophonisbu in her work, which was the basis for their long and happy marriage. They settled in Genoa , where her husband's family lived in a large house. Sofonisbe created excellent conditions for creativity, separate apartments and its own workshop.

Many artists came to visit her to study and share opinions on directions in the development of art. She created her own style, which many artists sought to imitate. Her success paved the way for artists of other Renaissance women, such as Lavinia Fontana , Barbara Longa , Fede Galicia and Artemisia Gentileschi .

In the last years of her life, Angvisola painted not only portraits, but also paintings on religious topics, as in the days of her youth. However, many of her paintings were subsequently lost.

Her husband’s successful trade and generous pension from Philip II allowed her to freely paint and live comfortably. She was a leading portrait painter in Genoa, until she moved to Palermo in the last years of her life.

Due to senile visual impairment, Angvissola stopped painting. She created her last self-portrait, almost having lost her sight, in 1620 , at the age of 88.

• Pizzagalli D. La signora della pittura: vita di Sofonisba Anguissola, gentildonna e artista nel Rinascimento. Milano: Rizzoli 2003
• Italian women artists: from Renaissance to Baroque / Carole Collier Frick ao, eds. Milano: Skira, 2007

• Angistsiola // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Works in museums of the world