Lavinia fontana biography channel

Summary of Lavinia Fontana

Fontana belonged to the Bolognese Mannerist school and is thought by many to be the first professional female artists, working on many prestigious private commissions for Bolognese and Roman nobility, and for foreign dignitaries (including the King of Spain).

Painting throughout her eleven pregnancies, she produced large-scale portraits that are notable for their luminous coloring and for her attention to the fine decorative detail in clothing and jewelry. She complemented her portraits with numerous religious paintings, including altarpieces and small devotional works, and mythological scenes.

In what was an unprecedented honor, Fontana's reputation was confirmed in her own lifetime when she was admitted into the illustrious guild for painters in Rome, the Accademia di San Luca, the first woman to achieve such an award.

Accomplishments

• Working in Bologna and Rome, Fontana is regarded as the first woman artist to make her name working under the sam