The Circle of Women Who Changed Renaissance Italian Art

From politics to art, education to science, men dominated the world of Renaissance Italy. Yet, at least in the Arts, more and more women began to rise above the misogynistic domination of that world to become famous by their own talents. 

This article focuses on only three female painters of the time. Yet, the list of other equally talented and determined women is well worth pursuing and studying. 

Artemisia Gentileschi

One name has come to tower over the list of numerous talented female artists of the Italian Renaissance: Artemisia Gentileschi. The current exhibition of her work at the National Gallery in London has been exceptionally well received. Curiosity abounds regarding her early history, the work with her father, Orazio, the rape and her victory in court against tremendous odds. 

However, a whole litany of other female artists worked both before and, certainly, after Artemisia. Here are some details about other equally talented female artists of that period. 

Plautilla Nelli

Plautilla, Suor (Sister) Nelli lived and painted in the Dominican Convent of Saint Catherine of Siena, located on the Piazza San Marco in Florence. She studied the work of, and with, Fra Bartolomeo at a time when women were not permitted to work outside the strictures of their Order. Her work, painted in a bottega within San Marco, soon gained the attention of wealthy Florentines, including the Medici. As word spread about her incredible talents, more wealthy Italian families acquired her work. 

Now out of restoration, her masterpiece The Last Supper returned to the Refectory of Santa Maria Novella Basilica in Florence. The dimensions of this stunning work on canvas are staggering: twenty-one feet long by six and half feet wide. The sisters who worked with Plautilla in the bottega sewed the canvas together. She was devoted to Saint Catherine of Siena, and many of the works are thought to represent self-portraits of the artist. 

Sofonisba Anguissola

The portraits by Sofonisba Anguissola, a late Renaissance painter, still today, capture the true spirit of her subjects. Her fame spread rapidly across Europe, thanks, in part, to the exposure she received from the King of Spain, Phillip I and his wife, Elizabeth of Valois. Her popularity with Elizabeth and the Spanish Court led to an  invitation to live in Madrid for several years. In her later life, she traveled to Naples and Sicily, and financially supported her life as an incredible artist. 

Her first husband, Sicilian Fabrizio de Moncada, regent of Paternò, died after only eight years of marriage. Her second husband, Orazio Lomellino, was a ship’s captain based in Genoa. They lived together in Genoa for more than thirty-five years where she began to teach other artists and continued to complete commissions given by both Europe’s royalty and leaders of the Church. In 1615, the couple moved to Palermo, in Sicily, where Orazio’s work continued until his passing in 1617. She died in 1624, at the age of ninety-two, in the city of Palermo. 

Lavinia Fontana 

Lavinia Fontana was a formidable presence in the art world of the early Renaissance. Through her father, Prospero Fontana, gained wide popularity across Europe as a portraitist. Her success in receiving permission to paint inside the Uffizi Gallery provides a notable indication of the force of her determination. She was also the first female painter to gain permission to paint the female figure in the nude. Her notoriety gained the attention of Pope Paul V (1605-1621) and she earned commissions to paint numerous portraits while he served as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.