Lucia Anguissola
Encyclopedia
Lucia Anguissola was an Italian mannerist painter.
Very little is known about Lucia’s life. No birth records remain, although her death (in her twenties) has been traditionally dated to 1565. Few of Lucia’s paintings are known and only two extant are signed.
Born in Cremona
, Italy. She was the third of five daughters all of whom were painters. Her father, Amilcare Anguissola, was a member of the Genoese
minor nobility and encouraged all his daughters to develop artistic skills. Lucia probably trained with her eldest sister Sofonisba Anguissola
and her work, mainly portraits, is similar in style and technique. Lucia was the most talented of Sofonisba’s sisters.
One of her extant paintings, Portrait of Pietro Maria, Doctor of Cremona, (early 1560s) was praised by Vasari, who saw it when he visited the family after her death. It is a sensitive portrayal, in a restricted palette of greys and browns. Lucia places a snake on the doctor's walking stick to allude to the caduceus to show he is a doctor. Lucia's skill is demonstrated in her ability to illustrate the sitter's personality in the animated face with a cocked eyebrow and the shoulders held are at different levels. Lucia's only other signed work is a half-length self-portrait (c. 1557). Lucia also painted a Virgin and Child, and A Portrait of a Woman (early 1560s; Rome, Gal. Borghese) is thought to be either a self-portrait by her or Sofonisba, or a portrait of Lucia by Sofonisba. Two portraits (Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo
in Brescia & Museo Poldi Pezzoli
) in Milan, probably of Minerva Anguissola, may also be by Lucia.
As Lucia died in her 20s, she did not have the opportunity to rival her sister.
Very little is known about Lucia’s life. No birth records remain, although her death (in her twenties) has been traditionally dated to 1565. Few of Lucia’s paintings are known and only two extant are signed.
Born in Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, Italy. She was the third of five daughters all of whom were painters. Her father, Amilcare Anguissola, was a member of the Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
minor nobility and encouraged all his daughters to develop artistic skills. Lucia probably trained with her eldest sister Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola was an Italian painter of the Renaissance.-The Anguissola family:...
and her work, mainly portraits, is similar in style and technique. Lucia was the most talented of Sofonisba’s sisters.
One of her extant paintings, Portrait of Pietro Maria, Doctor of Cremona, (early 1560s) was praised by Vasari, who saw it when he visited the family after her death. It is a sensitive portrayal, in a restricted palette of greys and browns. Lucia places a snake on the doctor's walking stick to allude to the caduceus to show he is a doctor. Lucia's skill is demonstrated in her ability to illustrate the sitter's personality in the animated face with a cocked eyebrow and the shoulders held are at different levels. Lucia's only other signed work is a half-length self-portrait (c. 1557). Lucia also painted a Virgin and Child, and A Portrait of a Woman (early 1560s; Rome, Gal. Borghese) is thought to be either a self-portrait by her or Sofonisba, or a portrait of Lucia by Sofonisba. Two portraits (Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo
Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo
The Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo is a public art collection in Brescia, Lombardy, northern Italy, exhibiting mainly paintings by local artists from the 13th through 18th centuries....
in Brescia & Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Museo Poldi Pezzoli
The Museo Poldi Pezzoli is an art museum in Milan, Italy.The museum was originated in the 19th century as private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli and his mother, Rosa Trivulzio, of the family of the condottiero Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, and has a particularly broad collection of Northern...
) in Milan, probably of Minerva Anguissola, may also be by Lucia.
As Lucia died in her 20s, she did not have the opportunity to rival her sister.