Women artists in early modern Italy : careers, fame, and collectors / edited by Sheila Barker.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Barker, Sheila, 1970- editor.

Series:

Medici Archive Project series

The Medici Archive Project Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anguissola, Sofonisba, approximately 1532 or 1533-1625.

Anguissola, Sofonisba.

Quistelli, Lucrezia, 1541-1594.

Quistelli, Lucrezia.

Paladini, Arcangela, 1599-1622.

Paladini, Arcangela.

Francini, Costanza, 1597-1657.

Francini, Costanza.

Nati, Camilla Guerrieri.

Gentileschi, Artemisia, 1593-1652 or 1653.

Gentileschi, Artemisia.

Women artists--Italy--16th century.

Women artists.

Women artists--Italy--17th century.

Women artists--Italy--18th century.

Italy.

Physical Description:

181 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm.

Place of Publication:

Turnhout, Belgium : Harvey Miller / Brepols, [2016]

Summary:

In ten chapters spanning two centuries, this collection of essays examines the relationships between women artists and their publics, both in early modern Italy as well as across Europe. Drawing upon archival evidence, these essays afford abundant documentary information about the diverse strategies that women found for carrying out their artistic careers, from Sofonisba Anguissola's role as a lady-in-waiting at the court of Felipe II of Spain, to Lucrezia Quistelli's avoidance of the Florentine market in favor of upholding the prestige of her family, to Costanza Francini's preference for the steady but humble work of candle painting for a Florentine confraternity. Their unusual life stories along with their outstanding talents brought fame to a number of women artists even in their own lifetimes--so much fame, in fact, that Giorgio Vasari included several women artists in his 1568 edition of artists' biographies. Notably, this visibility also subjected women artists to public scrutiny, to a much greater extent than what their male counterparts experienced. Because of their fame and their extraordinary (and often exemplary) lives, works made by women artists held a special allure for early generations of Italian collectors, including Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici, who made a point of collecting their self-portraits. In the eighteenth century, British collectors wishing to model themselves after the Italian virtuosi exhibited an undeniable penchant for the Italian women artists of a bygone era, but turned their backs to the contemporary women artists their midst.

Contents:

Introduction / Sheila Barker

'Più che famose': Some Thoughts on Women Artists in Early Modern Europe / Sheila ffolliott

Sofonisba Anguissola at the Court of Philip II / Cecilia Gamberini

Sofonisba Anguissola, 'Pittora de Natura': A Page from Van Dyck's Italian Sketchbook / Barbara Tramelli

Lucrezia Quistelli (1541-94), a Woman Artist in Vasari's Florence / Sheila Barker

Arcangela Paladini and the Medici / Lisa Goldenberg Stoppato

Costanza Francini: A Painter in the Shadow of Artemisia Gentileschi / Julia Vicioso

The Medici's First Woman Court Artist: The Life and Career of Camilla Guerreira Nati / Eve Straussman-Pflanzer

A Newly Discovered Late Work by Artemisia Gentileschi: Susanna and the Elders of 1652 / Adelina Modesti

Female Painters and Cosimo III de' Medici's Art Collecting Project / Roberta Piccinelli

The English Collectors of Italy's Female Old Masters, 1700-1824 / Nicole Escobedo.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781909400351

1909400351

OCLC:

925390961