Barbara Longhi
Encyclopedia
Barbara Longhi (21 September 1552 – 23 December 1638) was an Italian
painter. She was much admired in her lifetime as a portraitist, although most of her portraits are now lost or unattributed. Her work, such as her many Madonna and Child paintings, earned her a fine reputation as an artist.
, where she spent her entire life. Her father, Luca Longhi
(1507–1580) was a well-known Mannerist
painter, and her older brother Francesco (1544–1618) was also a painter. Both siblings received painting education from their father and were part of his studio, with Barbara assisting in such projects as work on large altarpiece
s. She also modeled, and gained some familiarity with the process of marketing her artwork to patrons. Although her training was completed by 1570, her ties to her family and to her father's workshop remained strong. Very little is known of her life, not even whether she was ever married.
Longhi was very respected as a portraitist, but only one of her portraits, the Camaldolese
Monk, is known today. This is also her only known painting depicting an adult male, and one of only a few that includes a date (although the last digit is not entirely legible; it may be 1570 or 1573).
Longhi's father had depicted her as Saint Barbara
in his 1570 painting Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints. Longhi also probably modeled for her father's Nuptials of Cana. Her Saint Catherine of Alexandria (pictured above) bears a strong resemblance to her father's depictions of her in the two paintings mentioned above, and it is generally acknowledged as a self-portrait. Of Longhi's portrayal of herself as the aristocratic, cultured Saint Catherine of Alexandria
, Irene Graziani writes that "when she exhibits an image of herself, Barbara, too, is presented according to the model of the virtuous, elegant and erudite woman, revisiting the themes which Lavinia [Fontana
] had developed several years earlier in Bologna, according to a repertoire tied to late Mannerism". It has been suggested that Longhi may have presented her self-portrait as the devotional image of a saint in order to avoid the appearance of indulging in the sin of vanity
. Originally commissioned for the Sant'Appolinare Monastery, Classe, the painting was acquired by the Museo d'Arte della Città di Ravenna in 1829, and underwent a restoration in 1980. Several other of her depictions of Catherine of Alexandria exist.
Most of Longhi's paintings are unsigned, but on one she included the initials "B.L.F.", standing for "Barbara Longhi fecit" ("made by Barbara Longhi") and on another, "B.L.P.", for "Barbara Longhi pinxit" ("painted by Barbara Longhi"). As almost all of her work was unsigned, it is unknown how many paintings she created or are still in existence. Only about fifteen are definitively attributed to her. Of those, about twelve are paintings of the Virgin and Child
; such paintings were very popular during the Counter-Reformation. It is thought that some of her works may be erroneously attributed to her father.
Among Longhi's paintings which do not depict the Madonna is Judith with the Head of Holofernes (ca. 1570–75). This subject was also painted by other female artists including Fede Galizia
, Elisabetta Sirani
and Artemisia Gentileschi
. Longhi's version differs greatly from two versions painted by Gentileschi in that it does not depict the violent act; instead, her Judith appears to seek forgiveness as she looks heavenward. This is consistent with Counter-Reformation ideas about willingness to admit guilt, and believing in absolution for the penitent.
The simplicity of composition and subtle colour palette used in her paintings also reflect the doctrines of the Counter-Reformation. Her relatively small works, as opposed to the large altarpieces created by her father, are indicative of their intended emphasis on devotional thoughts. She sought to evoke empathy in the viewer with her subjects. She resisted the trend to create huge Biblical scenes, instead concentrating on serene depictions of the Virgin and Child.
Her artistic influences included Raphael
, Antonio da Correggio
, Parmigianino
, Marcantonio Raimondi
, and Agostino Veneziano
. The international success of famed female Italian painter Sofonisba Anguissola
may have also served as an inspiration. While influenced by these major figures, her own unique style evolved; for example, her delicate rendering of features such as arms and necks on her Madonnas, and her use of a "warm and subtle golden palette". She "links traditional composition with intensity of feeling and innovative colouring."
She died in Ravenna on 23 December 1638, at the age of 86.
's epic work Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
. Vasari writes that Longhi "draws very well, and she has begun to colour some things with good grace and manner". But as Germaine Greer
discussed in her The Obstacle Race: The Fortunes of Women Painters and Their Work, such "haphazard" selections of women artists including Longhi rarely offered "serious criticism of their achievement." Greer then offered her own assessment: "Barbara's output was considerable, all small pictures, remarkable for their purity of line and soft brilliance of colour" and "Barbara Longhi brings to her extremely conservative picture-making a simplicity and intensity of feeling quite beyond her mannerist father and her dilettante brother."
Muzio Manfredi assessed Longhi's talent in a 1575 lecture in Bologna:
Despite a measure of fame in her home town of Ravenna, Longhi was not well known elsewhere during her lifetime. Her paintings provide some insight into the Counter-Reformation's influence on regional art.
Her work is represented in the collections of the Musée du Louvre (Paris), Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan), Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Museo Biblioteca del Grappa
, Walters Art Museum
(Baltimore, Maryland), and Indianapolis Museum of Art
, and also in the Santa Maria Maggiore (Ravenna).
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
painter. She was much admired in her lifetime as a portraitist, although most of her portraits are now lost or unattributed. Her work, such as her many Madonna and Child paintings, earned her a fine reputation as an artist.
Life and work
Barbara Longhi was born on 21 September 1552 in the northern Italian city of RavennaRavenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, where she spent her entire life. Her father, Luca Longhi
Luca Longhi
Luca Longhi was an Italian painter of the Mannerist period, born and active near Ravenna, where he mainly produced religious paintings and portraits....
(1507–1580) was a well-known Mannerist
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
painter, and her older brother Francesco (1544–1618) was also a painter. Both siblings received painting education from their father and were part of his studio, with Barbara assisting in such projects as work on large altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
s. She also modeled, and gained some familiarity with the process of marketing her artwork to patrons. Although her training was completed by 1570, her ties to her family and to her father's workshop remained strong. Very little is known of her life, not even whether she was ever married.
Longhi was very respected as a portraitist, but only one of her portraits, the Camaldolese
Camaldolese
The Camaldolese monks and nuns are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century...
Monk, is known today. This is also her only known painting depicting an adult male, and one of only a few that includes a date (although the last digit is not entirely legible; it may be 1570 or 1573).
Longhi's father had depicted her as Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara, , Feast Day December 4, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian saint and martyr....
in his 1570 painting Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints. Longhi also probably modeled for her father's Nuptials of Cana. Her Saint Catherine of Alexandria (pictured above) bears a strong resemblance to her father's depictions of her in the two paintings mentioned above, and it is generally acknowledged as a self-portrait. Of Longhi's portrayal of herself as the aristocratic, cultured Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
, Irene Graziani writes that "when she exhibits an image of herself, Barbara, too, is presented according to the model of the virtuous, elegant and erudite woman, revisiting the themes which Lavinia [Fontana
Lavinia Fontana
Lavinia Fontana was an Italian painter.-Biography:Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna, the daughter of the painter Prospero Fontana, who was a prominent painter of the School of Bologna at the time and served as her teacher...
] had developed several years earlier in Bologna, according to a repertoire tied to late Mannerism". It has been suggested that Longhi may have presented her self-portrait as the devotional image of a saint in order to avoid the appearance of indulging in the sin of vanity
Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
. Originally commissioned for the Sant'Appolinare Monastery, Classe, the painting was acquired by the Museo d'Arte della Città di Ravenna in 1829, and underwent a restoration in 1980. Several other of her depictions of Catherine of Alexandria exist.
Most of Longhi's paintings are unsigned, but on one she included the initials "B.L.F.", standing for "Barbara Longhi fecit" ("made by Barbara Longhi") and on another, "B.L.P.", for "Barbara Longhi pinxit" ("painted by Barbara Longhi"). As almost all of her work was unsigned, it is unknown how many paintings she created or are still in existence. Only about fifteen are definitively attributed to her. Of those, about twelve are paintings of the Virgin and Child
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
; such paintings were very popular during the Counter-Reformation. It is thought that some of her works may be erroneously attributed to her father.
Among Longhi's paintings which do not depict the Madonna is Judith with the Head of Holofernes (ca. 1570–75). This subject was also painted by other female artists including Fede Galizia
Fede Galizia
Fede Galizia was an Italian Renaissance painter, a pioneer of the still life genre.- Life:Fede Gallizi, better known as Galizia, was born in Milan in 1578. Her father, Nunzio Galizia, also a painter of miniatures, had moved to Milan from Trento. Fede learned to paint from him...
, Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani was an Italian Baroque painter whose father was the painter Giovanni Andrea Sirani of the School of Bologna-Biography:...
and Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian Early Baroque painter, today considered one of the most accomplished painters in the generation influenced by Caravaggio...
. Longhi's version differs greatly from two versions painted by Gentileschi in that it does not depict the violent act; instead, her Judith appears to seek forgiveness as she looks heavenward. This is consistent with Counter-Reformation ideas about willingness to admit guilt, and believing in absolution for the penitent.
The simplicity of composition and subtle colour palette used in her paintings also reflect the doctrines of the Counter-Reformation. Her relatively small works, as opposed to the large altarpieces created by her father, are indicative of their intended emphasis on devotional thoughts. She sought to evoke empathy in the viewer with her subjects. She resisted the trend to create huge Biblical scenes, instead concentrating on serene depictions of the Virgin and Child.
Her artistic influences included Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
, Antonio da Correggio
Antonio da Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio , usually known as Correggio, was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the 16th century...
, Parmigianino
Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola , also known as Francesco Mazzola or more commonly as Parmigianino or sometimes "Parmigiano", was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma...
, Marcantonio Raimondi
Marcantonio Raimondi
Marcantonio Raimondi, also simply Marcantonio, was an Italian engraver, known for being the first important printmaker whose body of work consists mainly of prints copying paintings. He is therefore a key figure in the rise of the reproductive print...
, and Agostino Veneziano
Agostino Veneziano
Agostino Veneziano, whose real name was Agostino de' Musi, was an important and prolific Italian engraver of the Renaissance.-Life:...
. The international success of famed female Italian painter Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola was an Italian painter of the Renaissance.-The Anguissola family:...
may have also served as an inspiration. While influenced by these major figures, her own unique style evolved; for example, her delicate rendering of features such as arms and necks on her Madonnas, and her use of a "warm and subtle golden palette". She "links traditional composition with intensity of feeling and innovative colouring."
She died in Ravenna on 23 December 1638, at the age of 86.
Assessment
Longhi is one of the few female artists mentioned in the second edition (1568) of Italian painter and art historian Giorgio VasariGiorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
's epic work Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
The Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, from Cimabue to Our Times, or Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori da Cimabue insino a' tempi nostri, as it was originally known in Italian, is a series of artist biographies written by 16th century...
. Vasari writes that Longhi "draws very well, and she has begun to colour some things with good grace and manner". But as Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
discussed in her The Obstacle Race: The Fortunes of Women Painters and Their Work, such "haphazard" selections of women artists including Longhi rarely offered "serious criticism of their achievement." Greer then offered her own assessment: "Barbara's output was considerable, all small pictures, remarkable for their purity of line and soft brilliance of colour" and "Barbara Longhi brings to her extremely conservative picture-making a simplicity and intensity of feeling quite beyond her mannerist father and her dilettante brother."
Muzio Manfredi assessed Longhi's talent in a 1575 lecture in Bologna:
Despite a measure of fame in her home town of Ravenna, Longhi was not well known elsewhere during her lifetime. Her paintings provide some insight into the Counter-Reformation's influence on regional art.
Collections
The Museo d'Arte della Città di Ravenna owns seven works by Barbara Longhi, as well as eleven of her father Luca's and three by her brother Francesco.Her work is represented in the collections of the Musée du Louvre (Paris), Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan), Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Museo Biblioteca del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...
, Walters Art Museum
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters , who began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American...
(Baltimore, Maryland), and Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.The...
, and also in the Santa Maria Maggiore (Ravenna).