Women Painters in Italy c.1600: Opportunities and Constraints

About this event

What was it like to be a woman painter in Italy at the turn of the 17th century? What obstacles did they face? And how did they manage to overcome them? Explore the worlds of Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and others in a lecture by renowned scholar Patrizia Cavazzini.

During the early modern period, artists’ careers were often dictated by guilds—powerful associations of artisans who could be especially hostile toward women. For this reason, the talented Anguissola sisters of Cremona had to pursue alternative career paths: Sofonisba moved to Spain, and Elena joined a convent. However, in Rome, where the painters’ guild was essentially powerless, women met fewer limitations yet faced fierce competition. Here, Lavinia Fontana found extraordinary opportunities to work, perhaps greater than previously known. These artists broke many restrictions—possibly even attending life drawing classes—but always remained conscious of their status as women, as seen in the famous Game of Chess by Sofonisba Anguissola.

This is the 30th annual Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art, named after the esteemed specialist of Italian art Sydney J. Freedberg (1914–1997), who served as chief curator of the National Gallery of Art from 1983 to 1988.

This program is coordinated by the National Gallery’s Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts.

Patrizia Cavazzini

Patrizia Cavazzini is an independent scholar who writes widely on the professional practices of and materials employed by early modern artists. In her book Painting as Business in Early Seventeenth-Century Rome, she examines the art market of lesser-known painters and collectors. Cavazzini has also curated numerous exhibitions, including Artemisia: Heroine of Art (2025) at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris and W̶o̶m̶a̶n̶ Painter, currently on view at the National Museum in Oslo. Cavazzini holds a PhD in art history from Columbia University.