Feminize This!
No image yetSofonisba Anguissola

Mannerism · Italy / Spain

Sofonisba Anguissola

c.1532–1625 · Court portraitist of intimate psychology

PortraitureCourt paintingDomestic scenesRenaissance

The short version

Praised by Michelangelo and hired by Philip II of Spain, Anguissola turned the formal portrait into something conversational — sitters glance sideways, children squabble, games are interrupted mid-move.

Key works

No image yetThe Chess Game

The Chess Game

1555

A group portrait of her sisters that reads as a novel in one frame.

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No image yetSelf-Portrait at the Easel

Self-Portrait at the Easel

c.1556

An early argument for the woman painter as intellectual.

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