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Sofonisba's Lesson: A Renaissance Artist and Her Work
The formation and career of the first major woman artist of the Renaissance
Sofonisba Anguissola (ca. 1535-1625) was the daughter of minor Lombard aristocrats who made the unprecedented decision to have her trained as a painter outside the family house. She went on to serve as an instructor to Isabel of Valois, the young queen of Spain. Sofonisba's Lesson sheds new light on Sofonisba's work, offering a major reassessment of a Renaissance painter who changed the image of women's education in Europe--and who transformed Western attitudes about who could be an artist.
In this gorgeously illustrated book, Michael Cole demonstrates how teaching and learning were central themes of Sofonisba's art, which shows women learning to read, play chess, and paint. He looks at how her painting challenged conventional ideas about the teaching of young girls, and also discusses her place in the history of the amateur, a new Renaissance type. Cole examines Sofonisba's relationships with the group of people for whom her work was important--her father Amilcare, her teacher Bernardino Campi, the men and women who sought to be associated with her, and her sisters and the other young women who followed her path.
Sofonisba's Lesson concludes with an illustrated catalog of the more than two hundred paintings and drawings that writers have associated with Sofonisba over the past 450 years, with a full report of modern scholarly opinion on each.
Sofonisba Anguissola (ca. 1535-1625) was the daughter of minor Lombard aristocrats who made the unprecedented decision to have her trained as a painter outside the family house. She went on to serve as an instructor to Isabel of Valois, the young queen of Spain. Sofonisba's Lesson sheds new light on Sofonisba's work, offering a major reassessment of a Renaissance painter who changed the image of women's education in Europe--and who transformed Western attitudes about who could be an artist.
In this gorgeously illustrated book, Michael Cole demonstrates how teaching and learning were central themes of Sofonisba's art, which shows women learning to read, play chess, and paint. He looks at how her painting challenged conventional ideas about the teaching of young girls, and also discusses her place in the history of the amateur, a new Renaissance type. Cole examines Sofonisba's relationships with the group of people for whom her work was important--her father Amilcare, her teacher Bernardino Campi, the men and women who sought to be associated with her, and her sisters and the other young women who followed her path.
Sofonisba's Lesson concludes with an illustrated catalog of the more than two hundred paintings and drawings that writers have associated with Sofonisba over the past 450 years, with a full report of modern scholarly opinion on each.
312 pages, Hardcover
Published February 11, 2020
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About the author
Michael W. Cole
10 books4 followersMichael W. Cole is professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia University.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 16, 2023
By far the best book I've read so far on this outstanding artist. Although it's obvious that the author is a smitten as I am by the lady and her paintings, he approaches the subject in a clear eyed, analytical and sober manner.
The first problem facing a writer dealing with a person who died nearly 400 years ago must be the lack of reliable, contemporary, documentary evidence. Although I was surprised by how much there actually is. Educated people of the time were often great letter writers and a number relating to Sofonisba have survived. Also, a number of her contemporary admirers wrote about her. Despite this, even the date of her birth is not known accurately – birth certificates being unknown at the time.
But the biggest challenge is authenticating the many, supposed, surviving paintings by Sofonisba and images of them produced by others. Not to mention the tragedy that many of her paintings have been lost over the centuries, often in fires at art galleries or private collections. We only know of these works from references made by those who saw them. The problem is further complicated by the fact that Sofi taught some of her siblings to paint, naturally in a similar style to her own. Paintings were not always signed or the signatures have been lost or painted over. Even those with signatures are not always to be relied upon. Prof Cole is suspicious of those where her first name is spelt with a ‘ph’ rather than ‘f’.
The penultimate section of the book is an invaluable, comprehensive, catalogue of all the paintings the author has traced, attributed to Sofonisba over the years, including those most doubtfully hers.
Just one small complaint from a ‘general’ reader’. Prof Cole is obviously a fluent Italian speaker: I am not. So, it would have been helpful if the many Italian quotations scattered through the book had been accompanied by translations.
The other problem is the price, although given the quantity of colour plates this is probably unavoidable. So, I’m most grateful to my local branch of Lancashire County Libraries who kindly borrowed a copy for me (from St Andrew’s University Library). And thanks most of all to Prof Cole for the enormous amount of work he has put into producing this enthralling book on a wonderful and still, it seems, relatively overlooked artist. Every time I look at the later authenticated self-portraits I have the uncanny feeling that Sofonisba is looking straight out of the painting, directly at me!
I’m surprised that, as far as I know, no documentary film has been made about her, by someone like Sky Arts. In fact, I’ve written to Waldemar Januszczak suggesting he take up the challenge!
The first problem facing a writer dealing with a person who died nearly 400 years ago must be the lack of reliable, contemporary, documentary evidence. Although I was surprised by how much there actually is. Educated people of the time were often great letter writers and a number relating to Sofonisba have survived. Also, a number of her contemporary admirers wrote about her. Despite this, even the date of her birth is not known accurately – birth certificates being unknown at the time.
But the biggest challenge is authenticating the many, supposed, surviving paintings by Sofonisba and images of them produced by others. Not to mention the tragedy that many of her paintings have been lost over the centuries, often in fires at art galleries or private collections. We only know of these works from references made by those who saw them. The problem is further complicated by the fact that Sofi taught some of her siblings to paint, naturally in a similar style to her own. Paintings were not always signed or the signatures have been lost or painted over. Even those with signatures are not always to be relied upon. Prof Cole is suspicious of those where her first name is spelt with a ‘ph’ rather than ‘f’.
The penultimate section of the book is an invaluable, comprehensive, catalogue of all the paintings the author has traced, attributed to Sofonisba over the years, including those most doubtfully hers.
Just one small complaint from a ‘general’ reader’. Prof Cole is obviously a fluent Italian speaker: I am not. So, it would have been helpful if the many Italian quotations scattered through the book had been accompanied by translations.
The other problem is the price, although given the quantity of colour plates this is probably unavoidable. So, I’m most grateful to my local branch of Lancashire County Libraries who kindly borrowed a copy for me (from St Andrew’s University Library). And thanks most of all to Prof Cole for the enormous amount of work he has put into producing this enthralling book on a wonderful and still, it seems, relatively overlooked artist. Every time I look at the later authenticated self-portraits I have the uncanny feeling that Sofonisba is looking straight out of the painting, directly at me!
I’m surprised that, as far as I know, no documentary film has been made about her, by someone like Sky Arts. In fact, I’ve written to Waldemar Januszczak suggesting he take up the challenge!
April 11, 2024
A well written account of Sofonisba's life and work, which explores how and why it can be so difficult to define what art can be attributed to her--and why for so long much of her work was attributed to others.
Her life was a remarkable one for any time, but particularly for the era in which she lived. For a woman to be encouraged, let alone allowed, to pursue a career in art was extraordinary (and meant that her family, especially her father, was extraordinary as well). She achieved fame as an artist, but she was also a great teacher, courtier, tutor to a queen, and governess to a princess. She married once as a sort of duty, but a second time for what appears to have been a great and sudden passion. In old age, she was sought out by the young van Dyck, who said he learned more from conversations with Sofonisba than from the works of more famous artists.
In the course of examining Sofonisba's life, Cole does detective work of a very high order in trying to determine as far as we can what constitutes her body of work. Her experiences expanded the ideas of what it might be possible for a woman to accomplish in art, what a life in art might look like for a woman.
It almost goes without saying that the book is richly and abundantly illustrated. The catalog of hundreds of painting is a wonder of its own. Sophonisba's Lesson is a very fine book, and a pleasure to read.
Her life was a remarkable one for any time, but particularly for the era in which she lived. For a woman to be encouraged, let alone allowed, to pursue a career in art was extraordinary (and meant that her family, especially her father, was extraordinary as well). She achieved fame as an artist, but she was also a great teacher, courtier, tutor to a queen, and governess to a princess. She married once as a sort of duty, but a second time for what appears to have been a great and sudden passion. In old age, she was sought out by the young van Dyck, who said he learned more from conversations with Sofonisba than from the works of more famous artists.
In the course of examining Sofonisba's life, Cole does detective work of a very high order in trying to determine as far as we can what constitutes her body of work. Her experiences expanded the ideas of what it might be possible for a woman to accomplish in art, what a life in art might look like for a woman.
It almost goes without saying that the book is richly and abundantly illustrated. The catalog of hundreds of painting is a wonder of its own. Sophonisba's Lesson is a very fine book, and a pleasure to read.
October 31, 2022
This is a very interesting book with beautiful illustrations. I enjoyed learning how Sofonisba started studying painting, what were the norms for women at her time, how she was unique in choosing her subjects of painting and reading about her work! For example, Sofonisba chose to paint mainly autoportraits and relationships. Her father was instrumental in the development of Sofonisba as an artist by sending her to learn art and painting at a time when women did not leave home. Therefore, she is a truly pioneer artist!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews