Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614)

- Lavinia Fontana, "Autorretrato con espineta", 1577. Galleria della Accademia di San Luca, Roma.

Tal día como hoy, el 24 de agosto de 1552, fue bautizada en Bolonia la pintora tardo-manierista Lavinia Fontana.

Fue hija del pintor renacentista Próspero Fontana (1512-1597), quien le enseñó el oficio. Durante su vida gozó de un enorme éxito, principalmente por sus retratos de la alta burguesía boloñesa, logrando ser la principal fuente de ingresos de su familia gracias a la ayuda y apoyo de su marido, el pintor Gian Paolo Zappi.

Fue una artista muy prolífica, se tiene constancia de 135 obras suyas aunque sólo se conservan 32 fechadas y firmadas. Abordó tanto temas mitológicos como religiosos.

Lavinia fue una gran admiradora de la pintora renacentista italiana Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625), cuya influencia se puede apreciar en el detallismo técnico a la hora de representar joyas y tejidos.

En 1603 se trasladó a Roma al convertirse en pintora oficial del papa Medici Clemente VIII y después de su sucesor Paulo V. También fue miembro de la Accademia di San Luca.

Lavinia Fontana murió en Roma a los 61 años el 11 de agosto de 1614.

Sus cuadros se encuentran en algunas de las mejores pinacotecas del mundo, como la Galería Uffizi y el Palacio Pitti en Florencia, la Galería de la Academia de San Lucas y la Galería Borghese en Roma, la Pinacoteca Nacional de Bolonia, el Museo de Bellas Artes de Burdeos, el Germanisches Nationalmuseum de Núremberg, el Museo de Bellas Artes de Boston o el National Museum of Women in the Arts de Washington D.C.

On this day, August 24, 1552, the late-Mannerist painter Lavinia Fontana was baptized in Bologna.

She was the daughter of the Renaissance painter Prospero Fontana (1512–1597), who taught her the trade. Throughout her life, she enjoyed enormous success, primarily for her portraits of the Bolognese high bourgeoisie. Thanks to the help and support of her husband, the painter Gian Paolo Zappi, she successfully became the main breadwinner for her family.

She was a highly prolific artist; historical records document 135 of her works, though only 32 signed and dated pieces survive today. She tackled both mythological and religious themes.

Lavinia was a great admirer of the Italian Renaissance painter Sofonisba Anguissola (1532–1625), whose influence can be seen in her meticulous technical detail when rendering jewelry and fabrics.

In 1603, she moved to Rome after becoming the official painter to the Medici Pope Clement VIII and later to his successor, Paul V. She was also a member of the Accademia di San Luca.

Lavinia Fontana died in Rome at the age of 61 on August 11, 1614.

Her paintings can be found in some of the world's finest art galleries, including the Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace in Florence, the Academy of St. Luke Gallery and Borghese Gallery in Rome, the National Gallery of Bologna, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Ritratto di Costanza Alidosi", c. 1595. National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Giuditta e Oloferne", 1595. Fondazione Ritiro San-Pellegrino, Bologna.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Judith with the head of Holofernes", 1600. Museo Davia Bargellini, Bolonia.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Judith with the Head of Holofernes", c. 1590. National Museum Kraków, Poland.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Portrait of Bianca degli Utili Maselli, wife of the nobleman Pierino Maselli, with six of her children (five sons and her daughter Verginia)", 1605. The Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco.

- Lavinia Fontana, "The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon", c. 1600. Oil on canvas, 251.7 x 326.5 cm. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Retrato de Antonietta Gonsalves", 1594-95. Musée des Beaux-Arts, château de Blois.

5Portrait d'Antonietta Gonsalvus Haut. 54,5 Larg. 47 cm. Sold by Rouillac 1.250.000 €. NMWA National Museum of Western Art, Tokio.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Portrait of a Lady with a Dog", 1590s. Auckland Art Gallery, Nueva Zelanda.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Portrait of a Noblewoman", ca. 1580. National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Minerva dressing", c. 1612. Private Collection.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Galatea and cherubs riding the stormy waves on a Sea Monster", 1590. Private Collection.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Venus y Marte", 1595. Fundación Casa de Alba. Palacio de Liria, Madrid.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Presentation at the temple", c. 1580. Oil on canvas, 143 x 103 cm. Sold by Im Kinsky (Vienna) in 2020. 50,000 €.

- Lavinia Fontana, "The Marriage Feast at Cana, oil on copper", s/d. Sold by Christie''s in 2020.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Noli me tangere", 1581. Oil on canvas, 120.3 × 93 cm. Galería de los Uffizi, Florencia.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Virgen del Silencio", 1589. Patrimonio Nacional, Galería de las Colecciones Reales, Madrid

- Lavinia Fontana, "Portrait of Gerardo Giavarini", 1598. Oil on canvas, 130 x 103, 5 cm. Sold by Bonhams London in 2018.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Selfportrait", dibujo. The Morgan Library and Museum, Nueva York.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Autoritratto in studio", 1579. Uffizi Gallery, Firenze.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Autorretrato". Uffizi Gallery. Reproducción en el libro "Women Painters of the World" (1905), by Walter Sparrow.

- Lavinia Fontana, "Portrait of Count Gentile Sassatelli", 1581. Oil on canvas, 217,5 x 120 cm. Signed and dated "LAVINIA FONTANA/ DE ZAPPIS FACIE/ MDLXXXI. The Klesch Collection, London.