Similarly, these publications bring new life and recognition to both artists, and their contributions. We hope you’ll check out these new books and share them with budding artists navigating their own paths to success in the art world.
A Female Renaissance Painter Receives Her Due
New Getty publications reframe the careers of two underrecognized women artists from the Renaissance and Baroque eras
Topics
Self-portrait at the easel, about 1556, Sofonisba Anguissola. Oil on canvas. Muzeum Zamek, Lancut
Body Content
Sofonisba Anguissola and Louise Moillon were among the most accomplished artists of their time.
Two new biographies—Sofonisba Anguissola by Cecilia Gamberini and Louise Moillon by Lesley Stevenson, part of the Illuminating Women Artists series, a partnership between Getty Publications and UK publisher Lund Humphries— delve into their fascinating lives and follow their careers as they navigate complex social and political hierarchies of power to achieve a level of acclaim rarely afforded to their female peers.
A Talented Court Painter
Sofonisba Anguissola was the first female Renaissance artist of noble origins to be trained outside of her home. In fact, when she was just 15, the Bishop of Alba called her one of the most talented painters of the time.
When she was 25, she became court painter and lady-in-waiting to the Spanish Queen Elisabeth of Valois. There, she painted portraits of royalty including Valois, Philip II of Spain, and Anne of Austria.
Still Life with Basket of Fruit and Bunch of Asparagus, 1630, Louise Moillon. Oil on panel. Art Institute, Chicago (1948.78), CC0
Bowl of Lemons and Oranges on a Box of Wood Shavings and Pomegranates, possibly after 1641, Louise Moillon. Oil on panel. National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photograph by Lee Stalsworth
The Stunning Realism of a Still Life Artist
Born and raised in Paris, Louise Moillon was the sole woman in a circle of Calvinist Protestant émigrés who brought their tradition of still-life painting with them from Flanders. Like Anguissola, Moillon was exceptional in that she received formal training.
As a painter, she enjoyed a degree of professional independence, and was recognized as a peer of notable male artists of the day, including [Jacques Linard][1] and Flemish painter [Pieter van Boucle][2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Linard [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_van_Boucle
However, despite her success, Moillon’s story and work were all but forgotten after her death in 1696.
That changed in 1934 with the Musée de l’Orangerie exhibition, Painters of Reality. The show, which focused on smaller-scale 17th century works depicted with stunning realism, included Moillon’s still lifes Basket of Plums and Small Basket of Strawberries and Basket of Apricots. This exhibition rightfully placed her work alongside that of her male peers and marked an awakening of the long-dormant interest in the artist.
