Allegory of the Air

Title: Allegory of the Air

Artist: Rosalba Carriera

Country: Venice, Italy

Date: 1774-1776

Present location: Unknown


I chose this painting because after seeing a variety of paintings in class produced by the use of pastels and crayon, I have become engrossed by them. I love the use of the very light, almost delicate colors used in this portrait. This woman is wearing an outfit that is sexy for that time period. It is revealing and feminine and erotic for this time period as well. It is similar to the portrait we discussed in class called "A Young Lady With a Parrot." The dress is slightly draped off of her breast and although the bird in the picture is not pulling the dress off of her, the bird is still there, flying around. I also like Carriera's use of light in this portrait. The background is slightly darker with the dramatic light on the woman's face. It is slightly contrasted in a way that makes the woman and her feminine features the center of attention. This portrait is done so in a way that emphasizes this woman's beauty and delicacy. Her gaze is also focused away from the spectator and moreso on the bird with her arm slightly raised as if waiting for the bird to perch itself onto her fingers. This time period was a time for women to open up and express themselves more freely, as evidenced by this portrait and the many others discussed during class.

A Lady

Artist Rosalba Carriera

Title: A Lady

I liked this picture because it resembles the A young lady with a parrot we discussed in class. This is a warm toned picturd created with class and a small amount of erotics presented. The way her shoulder is showing from her clothing it is like the bird pulling her dress out. It is done in a beautiful manner emphasizing the woman and her beauty. The coloring of her face, arm, and shoulder shown it bright colors truly draws your eye into those features. This piece of art is done in a way to emphasize the beauty of women in an appropriate mannser. Her gaze is beautiful and flirty at the same time. She is giving off a seductive grin causing people to focus more on her shoulder and neck line.

Portrait of Caterina Barbarigo

Caterina Barbarigo

Artist: Rosalba Carriera

This is a portrait of Caterina Barbarigo who belonged to one of the most famous Venetian families and was famous for her beauty. Rosalba Carriera shows her in light with her head-tilted slightly, and her gaze looking towards the audience, this picture clearly awares us of the elevated social status of affiliation and her attractiveness. The brightness of the pearls, in contrast with the dark tones of the headgear and the dresses, against the pallor of the complexion, they contribute to increase her charm.

I liked this portrait because i think it shows glamour and the colors really brought out her attractiveness. I also liked the expression on her face. She seems like she is a natural with the way she is posing. I also like how the colors extenuate the pearls. She is clearly wealthy with her rich clothing and accessories.

Spring

This is a painting by Rosalba Carriera called Spring (1725). The painting depicts a woman wearing a very loose set of clothing, with one sleeve falling off her shoulder and leaving a breast exposed. She is holding a small flower in her hand as if to smell it, with several other flowers in her hair and by her fallen clothing. Her face is cast to the side but her eyes are painted coyly and in the direction of the audience. Overall, this is an erotic portrait of a woman. Aside from the partial nudity and the flirtatious look on her face, the curvy lines of her body emphasize a level of sensuality. Also, the lighting on her chest and face, as well as the pastel used, give a "soft" look to her skin, adding yet another layer of realness and sensuality to the piece. The erotic painting of the woman was a direct result of the changing views on women during Carriera's time. This was a period influenced by the Enlightenment, where not only did women gain some liberties such as education, but the idea of sex was not as conservatively viewed as in the Renaissance or Middle Ages. Once such reason was because marriages were often arranged, leaving married couples unhappy and developing multiple sexual affairs. Thus, the idea of sexuality was expressed more in the public, as seen from Carriera's Spring. Even though such an image was topical at the time, some traditional views of woman are also seen in this painting, such as the incorporation of flowers. The flowers in the painting, as well as the title Spring, are are not only associated with women in terms of reproduction and fertility, but also in terms of trivialness. The idea comes from the Renaissance, where numerous women artists limited themselves to painting flowers because society at the time did not believe women artists were capable of more. Carriera, however, is certainly capable of more, as indicated by this skillful piece.

Madame Rousseau and Her Daughter

Title: Madame Rousseau and Her Daughter

Artist: Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun

Date: 1789

The reason I chose this painting is because it reminded me of Vigee Lebrun's self-portrait with her daughter. This is another work of art with the theme of "Happy Mothers." Madame Rousseau was the wife of the reknown architect Pierre Rousseau. She is well-dressed. The lighting reveals the sheen of her dress, and the detail of the folds add texture. The red, green, and blue colors are rich and beautiful. She is gently holding her daughter's hand. The little girl looks happy and content. She is not making direct eye contact with the viewer like her mother. This painting conveys Madame Rousseau tenderness as a loving mother.

This a painting by Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun. It is called Marie Antoinette and her children and she was a Queen. This painting was suppose to help her reputation by showing that she is a mother. This painting shows that a queen of high authority can have so many things to deal with but, will not forget her most important priority and thats is her children.
She is wealthy and she stands a a good role model for mothers in this time period. This painting also shows how a women can handle other things and manage to take care of her children. I think this picture is the best picture to help women become more active in the everyday life. I am not sure but maybe this help more women to get up and go out to do more things than just be a mother.

Portrait of a Young Woman

I chose this painting by Elisabeth Vigee Labrum called Portrait of a Young Woman. It is dated at 1797, and is currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It is unclear exactly who this is a portrait of, but judging by her clothing I can only assume she was not royalty. Although her garments are nice, they do not seem very elaborate or overly elegant. I found Elisabeth Vigee Labrum's paintings very interesting. It seems as though every portrait of a female by her is done with such confidence we can see it through the subjects eyes and expression. This young woman's face give the impression that she is entirely sure in herself as a person and a woman in this world. I think the wind blowing in her hair adds to this effect, and gives the painting a very natural feeling to it. Although Labrum uses dark colors for most of the painting, there is dramatic lighting on her face and hair. Lastly, the fold in her dress are incredibly detailed and rich.

The Marquise de Pezay, and the Marquise de Rougé with Her Sons Alexis and Adrien

This is a painting by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun called The Marquise de Pezay, and the Marquise de Rougé with Her Sons Alexis and Adrien (1787). The painting depicts two women, the Marquise de Pezay (left) and the Marquise de Rougé (right), sitting together along with the Marquise de Rougé's children Alexis and Adrien huddled next to her. The four are sitting in a park or garden-like area on what appears to be a cloudy day. The emphasis of the painting is the two women, who are happily conversing with one another, projecting one of the themes of the painting, which is friendship. This can be seen from the open, care-free body positions they have towards each other (leaning, touching the shoulder, etc.), as well as their close seating arrangement. Along with friendship is the theme of motherhood. Here, one child is lovingly staring at his mother, while the other rests on her lap; the light strongly focused on the child's face to emphasize his happiness to be with his mother. Vigée-Lebrun wanted to stress the important relationship between a mother and child, which can not only be seen from the children clinging to their mother but also from the symbolic environment they are in, Mother Nature. The trees in the background and the flowers at the bottom right corner symbolize fertility, reproduction, and the association of women with motherhood as natural. Also, all four are looking in different directions, again reinforcing the idea that this scene is natural and thus motherhood and women friendships are natural. Interestingly though, this scene occurs on a cloudy day. This atmosphere could have been alluding to the troubling atmosphere that Vigée-Lebrun was living under at the time. Since the painting was completed two years before the French Revolution, it can be assumed that tensions in France were quickly accumulating. Vigée-Lebrun could have been making a statement that women should stick together and always attend to their motherly duties despite any impending chaos or change about to take place.

Motherhood

Artist Name:Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun

Painting Title:Madame Rousseau and her Daughter

Year:1789

Museum:Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

This one is very similar to the one we saw of Elisabeth Vigee-LeBrun's self portrait with her daughter. The image truly focuses on the importance of maternity and motherhood. A dominant female role is the mother and in this painting along with the one we looked at truly emphasizes the importance. We can see in this painting the mother and daughter are showing affection in the way they are so close and holding hands. There expressions do not look quite as loving in this painting in comparison to the one we looked at in class. There gaze is in different directions, but still have that sense of closeness that shows love. The way the mother is looking directly at us seems like she and her daughter were distracted and turned to see something. The clothing in this portrait seems elegant and rich in color. These colors are quite rich and deep. Once again this painting is focusing on the importance of the role of being a mother.

Lady Hamilton

'Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante'
Aritst: Elizabeth Vigée-Le Brun

This is a picture of Lady Hamilton. Elizabeth Vigee-Le Brun made four portraits of her during her visits to Naples between 1790 and 1792. Bacchantes were female assistants at the rites and celebrations of the Roman God of wine, Bacchus. In this portrait Lady Hamilton is wearing vine leaves in her hair and her classical clothing is flowing. She is also holding a tambourine and her pose suggests that she is entertaining . As for her gaze, the portrait shows she is happy and vibrant. Lady Hamilton is often shown having expressive gestures and her mime acts that she created to entertain friends. She eventually became famous for this. This picture was thought to be painted in naples because of the background. And actually the background caught my attention along with her facial expression. I remembered in class that we had not seen any portraits done outside until this week. I also liked that this picture showed her being happy and expressive and doing something she loved. She loved to entertain and you can tell in this picture. I think this shows her being real. I like the way her face is portrayed and how the colors really bring out her eyes. It's almost like your not even looking at a picture.

Garden of Earthly Delights

Title: Garden of Earthly Delights

Artist: Hieronymus Bosch

Period: Around 1505

Since we were going over the Renaissance and Baroque art work I automatically thought about this painting, Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch. This was a painting I seen before in another art history class I had here at SXU. This was a painting to the development of the Protestant Reformation. The theme of the whole piece is the issues within the Catholic Church. There are three panels in the painting. The left painting focuses on the creation where the left is the tortures one goes through in hell. The center panel is twice the size of both side panels. It explains the moral issues that were the reasons for the corruption in the Church. In the central panel, the rotting fruit explains the short-lived pleasures in life, which are “earthly delights”. The exposure of several lovers to the world, without their knowledge, hints to the idea that private, lustful actions are still exposed in the end. The seven deadly sins of the earth are punishable in hell: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. This painting overall is using the color positively; bright colors. The images, those that are representing people are more ideal than real.

Flora

Title: Flora

Artist: Rosalba Carriera

Country: Venezia

Date: 1730s

Present location: Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Rosalba Carriera became very well-known throughout Europe, moreso in Paris, for her constructive use of pastels in her paintings. This portrait is done in pastels on paper and brings about a certain haziness or lightness to the portrait. The colors are subtle and not too overpowering. The background is somewhat dark, except for the main light source hitting the middle of it. The clothing she is wearing is very feminine, almost appearing sheer in some angles. Her hair is toussled and not done up fancy, however, the flowers in her hair add more femininity and delicacy to this person. Her skin is pale, yet flawless; almost angelic. Her gaze is focused on the spectator. The way her dress is drawn open offers us a sense of eroticism and although you cannot see her stance, she appears calm and comfortable in her own skin, which offers us as the spectators a thought of more freedom than the typical woman of this time period. This portrait is clearly about the subject of the patient and soley the subject, nothing or nobody else. It idealizes her as a strong, yet comfortable woman, who is daring enough to not only expose herself, but be painted as a subject exposing herself as well.

Vigee Lebrun's Self-Portrait

Title: Self-Portrait
Artist: Elizabeth Vigee Lebrun
Date: 1800

This is a self-portrait by Elizabeth Vigee Lebrun. In contrast to her self-portrait that we looked at in class this week, she paints herself indoors and in the act of painting, or getting ready to paint. She is sketching the bust of a woman. Like her earlier self-portrait, the artist is nicely dressed. She is wearing gold jewelry and an expensive-looking hair wrap. Unlike Artemesia Gentileschi's Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting and Sofonisba Anguissola's Self- Portrait at the Easel, in which both artists present themselves as serious artists wearing plain clothing, Vigee Lebrun presents herself as an attractive, well-dressed artist. This has the effect that she seems to be more concerned with her appearance rather than her work. Perhaps she presents herself as an attractive and feminine artist in order to make her art more appealing to her viewers as well as to conform to the world's views of objectified beauty.

Childhood

Artist: Judith Leyster

Title: Young Flute Player

This piece is much like the Self-Portrait she did. She painted this of a young boy playing his flute. In the background of this painting their is also a violin. Music is an enjoyable part of childhood for this child. This child's gaze is off into the distance; to me it seems as if music makes him happy. His gaze shows that he is playing for fun and is truly into what he is creating. The gaze to me gives of a sense of enjoyment and carelessness. This child wants to be nowhere and have no cares, just enjoy the music he is making. This is done like the Self Portrait Judith Leyster did of herself; in that painting she depicts herself doing what she loves. Where as in this painting the child seems to truly be enjoying what he is doing. The lightness of the colors in this picture gives off a sense of enjoyment as well. This depicts the fun in childhood. This stood out to me because it is meant to be a portrait of the boy, but also like an action/performance picture. She captured this in a way o show the boys enjoyment of playing this instrument and others. He is musically inclined and yet Judith was able to portray enjoyment, music, happiness, etc. in one painting.

comparison of sofonisba and leyster painting of the children

This Painting is by Judith leyster. It is called Two Children and a Cat. Like her other painting this one show the children enjoying life. The children in her paintings look more like grownups than children. The cat become the object that replaces the dog in her picture.

Sofonisba Anguissola painting of the children are more serious. They have the dog in stead of the cat. Thier clothes look much more expensive. The children look like they mean business and their is no time for play.

A card game.

This painting is by Judith Leyster and it is depicting four people who are playing a card game on what seems to be a barrel. Their expressions show that they are happy playing the game and happy being surrounded by one another since their gazes all seem to show fondness for each other. For the most part they are all looking in different directions but, the common theme here is happiness. It could be that possibly they are all friends enjoying a game.
In the painting it seems judith leyster has captured them in a moment. Because of the way the woman's hands are. The color and light sceme stuck out to me in this picture because all three in the back are shown in dark colors while the women in the front is depicted wearing bright colors and the light is shining upon her. I took that as them showing adoration for her. Perhaps all three in the back seem to like her company. I think this painting brings out Judtith Leysters talent of depicting still lifes and genre scenes and scenes of entertainment.

Vanitas by Has Holbein

This Vanitas is by Has Holbein and is dated around 1543, which also happen to be the year he died. It is currently part of a private collection. I was intrigued by this particular vanitas because it was the first i had seen with an entire skeleton. Many of the ones we saw in class and that I found online simply contain the skull. I love this skeleton because although it is nothing more than bones, it had a real sense of personality to me. For example, instead of just being a pile of bones, Holbein has the skeleton standing, his feet are even crossed. Also, note the way he is reclining on the table as he reads and the way he rest his head on his hand. Although the skull is faceless, there still seems so be some sort of emotion there. You can see the sorrow in his nonexistent face. Even his posture gives the impression that he bearing some serious weight on his shoulders. It is as though he is entirely aware that his body and knowledge are nothing more than these temporary things which can be lost at any moment, and therefore are not to be valued as highly as was once believed they should be.

vanitas painting by harmen steenwijck, c. 1640

I chose Vanitas by Harmen Steenwijck. I really was interested in the different objects he had painted into the painting which is different from other Vanitas that i have seen.Even through to some people it looks like a bunch of objects cluttered around the skull, I feel like this is a sort of harmony between the objects. Like we discussed in class, many of the objects in his painting has a symbolic defintion. Its also had a good amound of light giving an feel that maybe this objects are near a window. Which to me the symbolic meaning is that everything has a end to it but its not a sad end more like a calm maybe even a happy end.

This painting shows that during this time death was almost accepted maybe even welcomed. They may have felt like death has become a everyday thing and now that religon is introduced, it gives death a home so to speak. After you die its an end but a happy end. You would be going somewhere calming and peaceful. Which i also get from the seashell, which comes from the ocean which is calming to me. Overall I really like the dark/light painting. Death isnt depicted in this as something dark or how some may classified as "demonic" but nor it is depicted as a deption of what heaven would look like. I really like it.

The Caterpillar

This is a painting that Maria Sibylla Merian published in her book, Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung und sonderbare Blumennahrung -- The Caterpillar, Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral Food (1705). The painting depicts the metamorphosis and life cycle of the Thysania agrippina, or White Witch Moth. The emphasis is a large black caterpillar sitting on a branch, with a moth above and to the side of it, and an egg sac and cocoon below it. All around the caterpillar are leaves with holes in the middle. The spacing between the caterpillar, moths, and egg sac are arranged in an almost circular way, emphasizing a connection between the three different subjects. This spatial arrangement was important because Merian was trying to show what she studied from this moth species, which was that caterpillars transformed into moths, which in turn laid eggs that hatched into new caterpillars. In a time when the study of science was growing in northern Europe, her painting of this life cycle was important in disproving the popular theory of spontaneous generation (which included the idea that insects came from rotting mud). She also incorporated punctured leaves in the painting, which explained how the insect received sustenance before and after metamorphosis. In addition, there is a great attention to detail to the wing pattern and of the moth and the color of the caterpillar's body, which boosted the credibility and accuracy of her scientific observation. The detailed patterns also revealed her passion for insects, which conflicted with the Catholic church's dogma that viewed insects as "beasts of the devil." Merian was able to follow her Protestant belief of seeing God's divine beauty in nature through her painting of the Thysania agrippina metamorphosis.

Portrait of a Woman

Title: Portrait of a Woman
Artist: Caterina van Hemessen
Date: 1540s- early 1550s

The reason I chose this painting is because it is very similar to the van Hemessen painting Portrait of a Lady (1551) that we looked at in class this week. There is no doubt that this was a painting of a real woman, as her face and body are not idealized, and her clothes are not detailed or ornamented. The woman wears a simple black dress with lace around the neck and cuffs, as well as a black bonnet and a cheetah/leopard fur shawl. A wedding ring is visible, and I feel like it is a significant part of the story behind the painting. Her facial expression makes her appear sad and deep in thought. It looks as if she is staring into space, recalling a memory and reminiscing about the past. Her attire combined with her facial expression, plus the ring makes me think she is a grieving widow or something.

Older Artemesia

This picture is actually a reporoduction of Artemesia by Van. I love the fact that she is older. It show realistically how she may have progressed in age. She is not as youthful as her other portraits are painted. I like it for the realism. She still is dressed royally showing that she still has prestige. Again this portrait shows her having a maidservant, whats interesting is that in this painting the maidservant's back is tune and she seems to be much youger than her other servans have been. She seems comfortable in this picture even with the age progression

Spectrum

I absolutely love this painting. It has so much emotion. The way the colors work together, it shows how much life is in the picture. The painting barely shows her eyes but that may be symbolic of not knowing what lyes ahead but nonetheless she is looking ahead. There are blacks, blues and red in the painting showing signs of rage, peace, and resillance. I see hurt and happiness. The picture embodies a woman that has been through something but is not is not afraid of where shes going. It was painted by Malkia Roberts in 1972.

Jael and Sisera

This is a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi called Jael and Sisera (1620). The painting consists of a man sleeping peacefully near a woman while the woman is about to drive a nail through the man's head with a hammer. This picture is inspired by a bible story in the book of Judges, where Jael (the woman) lures Sisera, (the man) into her tent and waits until he falls asleep to murder him with the pick and hammer. Sisera is the captain of Jabin's army; Jabin is the king of Canaan. Jael plots to kill Sisera in order to free her people of Isreal from the rein of king Jabin. At first glance, the painting looks like that of a mother and child. The bright, warm colors of red and yellow give a sense of safety. However, that sense of safety proves to be misleading with the almost pitch-black darkness behind the two characters. The simple, black background not only adds a chilling atmosphere, but it also helps in making the characters stand out more. The black contrasts sharply with the bright colors to make Jael and Sisera "pop out" of the painting, reinforcing the importance of this scene in the bible. There is also an interesting use of lines in the portrait. The curvy lines of Sisera's belly and face accentuate the look of a sleeping baby, while the straight lines and rougher edges of Jael's arms, shoulders, and hands, give off a very threatening and powerful look. Despite the horrifying act of murder about to take place, Jael's face looks serene and peaceful. It shows that she is not in the least bit troubled by the murder she is about to commit, probably because she believes her action is just.

Judith and Her Maidservant Florence, Palazzo Pitti, c. 1613-14

Artist: Artemisia

Titile: Judith & Her Maidservant

Location:

Year: 1613-14

This is an image I found through Google; searching Artemisia’s artwork. I chose this picture among the many others because they are a lot of hidden details that I felt should be analyzed. This painting is titled Judith and Her Maidservant Florence. One would predict that because of the facial expression on what may be the maidservant that the two women are either running from something or is surprised. In the basket that I assume is Judith is a head, the head of Holofermes. Color used in this painting is very pleasant and dramatic; I get the feeling of the action being stopped in time of the painting. The dark shadow cased upon the face makes it so that it is hidden. Both of the women appear united in both their strength and their fear as they face the task of evading detection. In research of this painting I learned that if you were to zoom in on the sword one would see an image of a gorgon, symbol of the monstrous power of the violated feminine.

Double Portrait of a Boy and Girl of the Attavanti Family

I chose Double Potrait of a boy and girl of the Attavanti family by Sofonisba. I chose this potrait painting because it remninds me of the children's potrait we looked at during class with the two girls and the boy with the dog. It looks very lively but also very calming jus by thier expressions. As in the other painting, the little boy is holding something of significance in this case a open book. This slight thing gives the potrait a human quality to it because it looks like a picture taken at that exact moment rather than a posed potrait so to say. What also makes this potrait more human and more relaxed is the way the girl's hand is placed on the shoulder of the boy. It looks more caring and less stoic than other potraits i have seen from this time period. This gives this potrait a subtle warmth to it.

I really like this potrait and I found that Sofonisba Anguissola paintings are very personal and doesnt have the typically stoic poses. Alot of her paintings are very life like but alos peacefully in a sense. Some of her potraits and paintings are choatic but also calm in a sense. I really love her painting style.

Female martyr

This picture is by Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-portrait as a Female Martyr ca. 1615. I picked this image because when looking at all of Artemisias' work I really found her work to be interesting. I thought this picture was great because we talked a lot in class about self portraits. Also i thought the colors blended well together in this picture. What drew me to this picture also was the emphasis on her hands and the way she is holding the feather. I think the feather in this picture possibly is of significance and is important to her. Also the gaze caught my eye as well. it seems as if she's emotionless maybe even borderline sad. And if shes naming this portraint a female martyr then she is definitely of importance. Unlike the movie displayed this picture is not of males genitals and it shows she has known also for self portraits not just her eroticism.

Mary Magdalen

Title: Mary Magdalen

Artist: Artemisia Gentileschi

Country: Italy

Date: 1613-20

Present location: Pitti Gallery, Florence

I chose this particular painting because it really has feeling within it. The title drew me in initially because when you think of Mary Magdalen, you think Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Many pieces of artwork have been produced since her time, many of which are her at the foot of the cross or with other apostles or even Jesus. Artemisia's portrayal, however, has Mary by herself, in a most natural state. She has on a a very lavish looking dress, hung off of her shoulder and the color is very plain. For this painting, the dress is focal point to me because it is against a darker background. It also appears to have a somewhat smooth texture, almost comfortable. Her facial expression and hand gesture do not appear to be comfortable though. She appears distressed, somewhat caressing or about to grip her chest in some sort of way, as if something is tugging at her heart strings, whether physically or emotionally. This painting seems to be Artemisia's way of retelling Mary Magdalene's story from her female view point. I think it is a creative way to depict Mary Magdalane, had she been around during the Renaissance period.

This is a painting by Artemisia. This is a self portait of her as a lute player. she has characteristics os a strong, power, and educated women. her hands are heavy set and she is playing a musical instrument whichb shows wealth. she has the gaze in her eyes that shows she is important.

This painting reminds me of almost all of Artemisia work we seen in classn because the all had that gaze in there eyes. she has on rich color and surprising her breast is not hanging out. she is fully covered showing she has respect for her self. This show how much of a women she is and not a sex image.

Self-Portrait at the Easel

Title: Self-Portait at the Easel
Artist: Sofonisba Anguissola
Date: 1556

I chose this painting by Sofonisba Anguissola because it is similar to her Self-Portrait at the Spinet (1561), which we looked at in class on Monday. Anguissola wears plain, masculine-looking clothing in this earlier self-portrait as well. As Mary Gerrard says in Here's Looking at Me, Anguissola "presents herself as 'like a man,' avoiding feminine signifiers that might link her with paragons of beauty or courtesans and emphasizing features associated with independence, self-possession, and maturity" (page 7). Anguissola pauses from her work to gaze solemnly at the viewer, as if she's saying "This is me." She doesn't emphasize her beauty or wear embellished clothing, as these things would only take away from the message of the painting. Through this self-portrait, Anguissola's intent is to show her seriousness and dedication as an artist. This painting reminds me of Artemesia Gentileschi's Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (1630). I like how both Anguissola and Gentileschi represented themselves as artists in the act of painting.

Woman of Age

"Portrait of Juana of Austria and a Young Girl captures Juana, a woman of high ambition who married at seventeen, was widowed two years later, ruled Spain for five years, and was a Jesuit. Artist Sofonisba Anguissola was a female painter of the Italian Renaissance.

Courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston." (http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/anguissola_p26w15.asp).

This painting relates to what we have talked about Sofonisba in class. This woman shows age and knowledge by her facial features. She has that eye gaze of a woman of age, as well as the dark coloring of her clothing. She looks like she has experienced a great deal throughout her lifetime. The young girl once again looks brighter and to me that seems like she has less life experience. She also doesn't look as stern as the Juana does. As well as, the clothing they are wearing shows a sense of wealth and power. The child's dress is elaborate with designs and what seems to be a variety of materials and Juana seems to have a simple elequent black outfit with minimal design.