In Memoriam Sofonisba Anguissola, who died 400 years ago

In Memoriam Sofonisba Anguissola, who died 400 years ago

Making a highly successful career for yourself as a woman artist in the Renaissance was an extraordinary if not unique feat. It’s one of the many accomplishments of Sofonisba Anguissola (c 1532-1625), who also managed to survive the ravages of infectious disease, and died in her early nineties, four centuries ago today. Even more unusually, she wasn’t born into an artistic family, but into minor nobility in Cremona, Lombardy, Italy. The oldest o…