Lavinia Fontana
Lavinia Fontana was an Italian painter during the Renaissance times. Fontana was one of many amazing female painters as well as one of the first most world renown Bolognese artists. She stood out because she was the first women to try and stride with the men as an artist and ask for commissions. She went against the grain of many traditions and societal expectations. She paved a path for many female artists. I am going to explain more about Lavinia Fontana to help you get an understanding of how she accomplished these things later on, First, Fontana was born in Bologna, Italy in 1552. She was taught by her father, Prospero Fontana, who was a cosmopolitan fresco artist at the school of Bologna. He taught her how to paint in a Mannerist style which was not very likely for most female artists. It was very rare for…show more content… Pope Clement VIIII brought her to the papal palace where he had an audience waiting or her. He then asked her to paint. She produced her most famous piece named "The Stoning of St. Stephen Martyr," which was over 20 feet tall. It was of the first Christian to die for their faith. “The altarpiece adorned one of Rome's seven pilgrimage centers, the church of San Paolo Fuori le Mura, until the building was consumed by fire in 1823 and the painting was lost (Lavinia Fontana Facts).” This might of been one of the greatest lost pieces of art by a Bolognese women ever. “Popes Gregory XIII and Clement VIII each posed for her in ceremonial regalia and the Vatican offered her commissions normally contracted to male artists. Of her 135 works—the largest corpus of artwork by any woman from the Renaissance or before—only 32 are signed and dated ()”. It is a true shame how many of her works have gone without being seen by the world forever. It makes you have to wonder about all the ones we might not have ever gotten the chance to