Character Catalog

One of the earliest known depictions of a woman artist at work, held at Łańcut Castle in Poland. This painting boldly asserts Sofonisba's professional identity.

A painting showing three of her sisters playing chess, held at the National Museum in Poznań. A pioneering work for its intimate genre scene and natural rendering of expressions.

Held at the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples, this painting shows her playing the harpsichord, reflecting her dual mastery of music and painting. It embodies the Renaissance ideal of the accomplished woman.

A portrait of the Queen of Spain, wife of Philip II, painted during her years at the Madrid court. Several versions exist, attesting to the importance of her role as official portraitist.

A portrait of the King of Spain, held at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. A demonstration of her mastery of court portraiture, combining royal dignity with subtle psychological insight into the sitter.

A mature work revealing the evolution of her technique toward greater psychological depth. Long attributed to other masters, it has been restored to her by contemporary scholarship.

I have sent to Your Lordship a drawing by my daughter Sofonisba, so that you may see and judge the progress she has made in the noble arts that you taught her.

Sofonisba Anguissola, of Cremona, has labored with greater study and grace than any other woman of our time at the difficulties of drawing; she has not only succeeded in drawing, coloring, and painting from nature, but has also produced very beautiful and rare paintings.

I visited the signora Sofonisba, painter. She gave me much good advice on painting. She said that to make a good portrait, one must engage the subject in conversation so that they do not take on a stiff expression.

I beseech Your Majesty to allow me to return to Italy to marry according to my station, having faithfully served the queen for many years.

Sofonisba's birthplace and an active artistic center in the 16th century, where she received her initial training under Bernardino Campi. It was in this Lombard city that her artistic vocation took root.

Sofonisba visited Rome around 1556 and met Michelangelo, who encouraged her and offered corrections on her drawings. This encounter with the master cemented her growing reputation.

Sofonisba lived and worked here for nearly fifteen years (1559–1573) as the official portraitist of Philip II's court. It was here that she created her most celebrated works and gained a European-wide reputation.

After the death of her first husband, Sofonisba settled in Genoa with her second husband Orazio Lomellini. She was active in Genoese artistic circles there and continued to paint.

The city where Sofonisba spent the final years of her life, and where Anthony van Dyck came to visit her in 1624, a year before her death. She is buried in the church of San Giorgio dei Genovesi.