Sofonisba Anguissola

Lore & Background

The origin and the name of the noble Anguissola family are linked to an ancient Byzantine tradition. According to this tradition, the Anguissolas are descended from the Constantinopolitan warlord Galvano Sordo or Galvano de Soardi/Sourdi. In 717, Galvano served in the army of the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian, and 'with an ingenious artificial fire, contributed to liberate the city of Constantinople from the Saracens who had kept it besieged by land and sea'. This 'artificial fire' was the so-called Greek fire. Since the shield of the Sourdi carried the effigy of an asp (in Latin: anguis), after Galvano's victory over the Umayyads, his brothers-in-arms and the people of Constantinople exclaimed: 'Anguis sola fecit victoriam!', i.e.: 'The snake alone brought the victory!' This saying became very popular, and Galvano himself was nicknamed 'Anguissola'. The Emperor eventually bestowed the Anguissola surname to all his descendants. In this regard, it has been suggested that the monogram depicted on Anguissola's miniature self-portrait may contain the family motto 'Anguis sola fecit victoriam' or, more simply, the name of Anguissola's father, Amilcare. Fleeing from a pestilence that raged in Constantinople, the descendants of the first Anguissola settled in Italy, intermarried with other noble families such as the Komnenoi, the Gonzagas, the Caracciolos, the Scottis and the Viscontis, and built autonomous estates in Piacenza, Cremona, Vicenza and other regions of Italy. The Anguissolas who settled in the Republic of Venice belonged to the patriciate of its capital, Venice from 1499 to 1612.

Reader's Guide

Sofonisba Anguissola was born into a poor but ancient Italian noble family in Cremona, Lombardy in 1532, the oldest of seven children, six of whom were girls. Her father, Amilcare Anguissola, was a member of the Cremonese nobility, and her mother, Bianca Ponzone, was also of noble background. The family lived near the site of a famous 2nd century B.C. battle, the Battle of the Trebia, between the Romans and Carthaginians, and several members of the Anguissola family were named after ancient Carthaginian historical characters: Amilcare was named for the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca; he named his first daughter after the tragic Carthaginian figure Sophonisba and his only son Asdrubale after the warlord Hasdrubal Barca. Amilcare Anguissola, inspired by Baldassare Castiglione's book The Book of the Courtier, encouraged all his daughters (Sofonisba, Elena, Lucia, Europa, Minerva and Anna Maria) to cultivate and perfect their talents. Four of her sisters (Elena, Lucia, Europa and Anna Maria) also became painters, but Sofonisba was by far the most accomplished and renowned and taught her younger siblings. Elena (c. 1532 – 1584) abandoned painting to become a nun. Both Anna Maria and Europa gave up art upon marrying, while Lucia (1536 or 1538 – c. 1565–1568), the best painter of Sophonisba's sisters, died young. The remaining sister, Minerva, became a writer and Latin scholar. Asdrubale, Sophonisba's brother, studied music and Latin, but not painting. Her aristocratic father made sure that Anguissola and her sisters received a well-rounded education that included the fine arts. Anguissola was fourteen when her father sent her and her sister Elena to study with Bernardino Campi, a respected portrait and religious painter of the Lombard school. When, in 1550, Campi moved to Milan, Anguissola continued her studies with painter Bernardino Gatti (known as Il Sojaro), a pupil of Correggio's. Anguissola's apprenticeship with local painters set a precedent for women to be accepted as students of art. Dates are uncertain, but Anguissola probably continued her studies under Gatti for about three years (1551–1553). One of Anguissola's most important early works was Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1550). The unusual double portrait depicts Anguissola's art teacher in the act of painting a portrait of her. In 1554, at age twenty-two, Anguissola travelle

Did You Know?

• Anguissola was introduced to Michelangelo in Rome, who challenged her to draw a weeping boy; she responded with a drawing of Child Bitten by a Lobster.
• She served as tutor to Queen Elizabeth of Valois in Madrid and later became an official court painter to King Philip II.
• Her father named her after the tragic Carthaginian figure Sophonisba, and her brother Asdrubale after the warlord Hasdrubal Barca.
• Anguissola died at age 97 in Palermo in 1629.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Sofonisba Anguissola  1532 - 1625 was an Italian painter." — Sofonisba Anguissola "The image that is characterized by a not good piles like simplicity in the soul." — Sofonisba Anguissola "One image is not enough but in the woman." — Sofonisba Anguissola