THE INCREDIBLE LAVINIA FONTANA

Lavinia Fontana (Italian 1552-1614) was a painter of portraits, especially noblewomen*.   She even had the honor of painting a Pope.    She was one of the very first women artists to be commissioned*  to paint large religious altarpieces* for churches.  

She enjoyed painting CUTE small dogs in her portraits!💗

Portrait Of A Lady With A Lap Dog by Lavinia Fontana

Assumption Of The Virgin With
Saints Peter Chrysologus and Cassian by Lavinia Fontana

Here is a video where you can learn about her and enjoy her work:

*Noblewoman: A female member of a high ranking family in society.

*Commissioned: To receive an order for the production of something such as a building, piece of equipment or work of art

*Altarpiece: A work of art, especiallyy a painting on wood, set above or behind an altar

GIOVANNA GARZONI PAINTER OF WATERCOLORS WITH THE WOW!! FACTOR

Giovanni Garzoni (Italian, 1600-1670) was a highly skilled artist who became famous for her exquisite watercolors of fruits, vegetables and a variety of botanical* subjects.  She even painted insects on the fruits and vegetables!!

Giovanna Garzoni  Still Life with Bowl of Citrons,

She was very popular in her day and received important commissions* and was a court painter for one of the most powerful families in  Italy -- the Medici family.

Here is a video with a collection of her work:

*Botanical:  relating to plants


*Commission: To give an order for or authorize the production of (something such as a building, piece of equipment or work of art)

FEDE GALIZIA'S AMAZING ART

Fede Galizia, was born in Milan, Italy  around 1578. Her father, Annunzio Galizia was a miniature artist, who most likely taught Fede how to paint. By the age of twelve, Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo (Italian 1538-1592), an artist and art theorist wrote about how artistically gifted Fede was.  

Fede painted portraits, but is more famous for her still life* paintings. She is thought to be  among the first Italian still life painters.

Maiolica Basket Of Fruit by Fede Galizia, Collection of Silvano Lodi

Please watch this excellent video  on Fede Galizia :) 

 *still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made 

CLARA PEETERS, PAINTER OF THE DELICIOUS

Clara Peeters was a still-life painter* from Antwerp. Her date of birth is not known, but her paintings date from 1607-1621. Peeters is one of the earliest artists that painted fruits and flowers.  She loved painting foods, she did many paintings with cheeses. Clara had a remarkable ability to paint textures.  She painted glass and metal goblets beautifully.

                                                     Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels by Clara Peeters 

Her paintings including fish are the earliest recorded in art history, they date 25 years before any other artist depicted fish in a painting. WOW!

See below video for a collection of her work:

*Still life-a painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects, typically including fruit and flowers and objects contrasting with these in texture, such as bowls and glassware.

ADELAIDE LABILLE GUIARD, PAINTER IN THE BEAUTIFUL LIGHT BLUE DRESS

Adelaide Labille- Guiard (French 1749-1803)learned oil painting not from a relative, but from a friend of the family, well known artist, Elie Andre Vincent,(French, 1746-1816).

Self Portrait with Two Pupils by Adelaide Labille-Guiard,
this painting is usually on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City

Adelaide's father owned a fashionable boutique in Paris, which could explain her AMAZING ability to paint fabrics. See video below.

Adelaide Labille-Guiard (French 1749-1803)

Adelaide became a teacher and educated and trained many women artists, she was a champion for helping talented women succeed in learning the craft of painting.  One of her pupils was Marie Gabrielle Capet (French, 1761-1818), a wonderful miniaturist painter and portraitist.  The painting below is a self-portrait by Marie- Gabrielle Capet, 
Click on the link to check out an ULTRA hi-res photo of her INCREDIBLE painting

Marie- Gabrielle Capet(French 1761-1818)

Self-Portrait by Marie -Gabrielle Capet

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/search?q=marie%20Gabrielle%20capet

LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

The female painters who succeeded long ago were usually related to another male relative, like their father - who would teach their daughters the craft of painting.

One famous father/daughter team example is Artemesia Gentileschi (Italian,1593-1653), whose father was painter Orazio Gentileschi (Italian,1563-1639).  

Orazio Gentileschi (Italian 1563-1639) painted this:

The Lute Player by Orazio Gentileschi

Artemesia Gentileschi(Italian 1593-1693) painted this, Nice!:

The Penitent Magdalene by Artemesia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait by Artemesia Gentileschi

Another example of Like Father, Like Daughter was artist Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun (French 1755-1842). Whose father Louis Vigee(French,1715-1767) was a portraitist and fan painter.  Later in life Elisabeth would paint Queen Marie Antoinette more than 25 times!!WoW!

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun (French 1755-1842)

Queen Marie Antoinette by Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun

Thanks DaD!

INTRODUCTION: LEARN ABOUT ART HISTORY AND INCREDIBLE WOMEN ARTISTS IN IT

There were many incredible women artists throughout art history. Especially the time period starting with the Renaissance*   (1400's-1700's) and after. 

                                                                          

Here are some examples and interesting videos on three super fascinating artists:  

Sophonisba Anguissola (Italian 1532-1625)  

 Judith Leyster (Dutch,1609-1660) 

                                                     

Properzia de Rossi (Italian 1490 -1530)

                                                                                                                              

Their story is inspiring because they triumphed and became excellent, famous artists during their lifetime, without having access to the art schools of the day. 

Women were not allowed to study in art schools until the late 1800's.  :(

 The female painters who succeeded long ago were usually related to another male relative, like their father - who would teach their daughters the craft of painting. You definitely could say "like father, like daughter"! If you are curious, see the next blog post. :) 

*Renaissance was a period in European history from the 14th - 17th century. The era bridged modern times to the Middle Ages.  The word Renaissance means "rebirth".  This applied to art, music, education, literature and life in general.