Sofonisba's Lesson: A Renaissance Artist and Her Work

Author:   Michael W. Cole
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
ISBN:  

9780691198323


Pages:   312
Publication Date:   11 February 2020
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
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Sofonisba's Lesson: A Renaissance Artist and Her Work


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Apollo Magazine, Books of the Year 2020 Wall Street Journal, Holiday Gift Books: Art The formation and career of the first major woman artist of the Renaissance Sofonisba Anguissola (ca. 15351625) was the daughter of minor Lombard aristocrats who made the unprecedented decision to have her trained as a painter outside the family house. She went on to serve as an instructor to Isabel of Valois, the young queen of Spain. Sofonisba's Lesson sheds new light on Sofonisba's work, offering a major reassessment of a Renaissance painter who changed the image of women's education in Europe-and who transformed Western attitudes about who could be an artist. In this book, Michael Cole demonstrates how teaching and learning were central themes of Sofonisba's art, which shows women learning to read, play chess, and paint. He looks at how her pictures challenged conventional ideas about the teaching of young girls, and he discusses her place in the history of the amateur, a new Renaissance type. The book examines Sofonisba's relationships with the group of people for whom her practice was important-her father Amilcare, her teacher Bernardino Campi, the men and women who sought to be associated with her, and her sisters and the other young women who followed her path. Sofonisba's Lesson concludes with a complete illustrated catalog of the more than two hundred known paintings and drawings that writers have associated with Sofonisba over the past 450 years, with a full accounting of modern scholarly opinion on each.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael W. Cole
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
ISBN:  

9780691198323


ISBN 10:   0691198322
Pages:   312
Publication Date:   11 February 2020
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

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Reviews

Sofonisba's Lesson tells the story of how it was possible for a young Cremona woman to make a name for herself in the competitive man's world of 1550s Italy and further afield in Spain . . . Having run through the biographical information intrigued and entranced, the reader will hit upon the catalog of works without even realizing it; Cole writes with a style that is both thought-provoking and relatable, his subject matter indelibly endearing. ---Cindy Helms, New York Journal of Books A substantial monograph that opens at the poignant moment when Sofonisba 'left her father's home' to study art. ---Deborah Solomon, New York Times


Michael Cole makes a compelling contribution to our understanding of the art and life of the Cremonese painter Sofonisba Anguissola, and to broader discussions of women artists in the Renaissance. -Andrea Bayer, Metropolitan Museum of Art This insightful book provides a fascinating and original introduction to the first great woman artist of Renaissance Italy. Sofonisba's Lesson makes a timely contribution to Renaissance art history and women's studies, providing a comprehensive and much-needed examination of a major painter. -Babette Bohn, author of Ludovico Carracci and the Art of Drawing


Sofonisba's Lesson tells the story of how it was possible for a young Cremona woman to make a name for herself in the competitive man's world of 1550s Italy and further afield in Spain . . . Having run through the biographical information intrigued and entranced, the reader will hit upon the catalog of works without even realizing it; Cole writes with a style that is both thought-provoking and relatable, his subject matter indelibly endearing. ---Cindy Helms, New York Journal of Books [Sofonisba's Lesson] is well written and an enjoyable read. . . . It is recommended that this book should be in every library - college or public - that has art history in its scope. It is also of great use to courses that cover the Renaissance and its material, intellectual, and social culture. ---Stephen J. Bury, ARLIS/NA Reviews Cole's book carefully and with historical rigour suggests what at 16th-century feminist might have looked like, while offering a compelling example of feminist art history for the present day. ---Alexander Marr, Apollo A substantial monograph that opens at the poignant moment when Sofonisba 'left her father's home' to study art. ---Deborah Solomon, New York Times Sofonisba Anguissola (c1534-1625) is often identified as one of the first great Renaissance women artists, yet there has not been a scholarly monograph in English on her since Ilya Sandra Perlingieri's Sofonisba Anguissola: The First Great Woman Artist of the Renaissance (1992). Thus, this fascinating book is a welcome addition to the literature . . . [T]his book makes a significant contribution to better understanding of Anguissola's oeuvre. Directed toward a scholarly audience (for example, some Italian phrases go untranslated), this beautiful catalogue is an important study of a groundbreaking artist. * Choice *


Sofonisba Anguissola (c1534-1625) is often identified as one of the first great Renaissance women artists, yet there has not been a scholarly monograph in English on her since Ilya Sandra Perlingieri's Sofonisba Anguissola: The First Great Woman Artist of the Renaissance (1992). Thus, this fascinating book is a welcome addition to the literature . . . [T]his book makes a significant contribution to better understanding of Anguissola's oeuvre. Directed toward a scholarly audience (for example, some Italian phrases go untranslated), this beautiful catalogue is an important study of a groundbreaking artist. * Choice * A substantial monograph that opens at the poignant moment when Sofonisba 'left her father's home' to study art. ---Deborah Solomon, New York Times Cole's book carefully and with historical rigour suggests what at 16th-century feminist might have looked like, while offering a compelling example of feminist art history for the present day. ---Alexander Marr, Apollo [Sofonisba's Lesson] is well written and an enjoyable read. . . . It is recommended that this book should be in every library - college or public - that has art history in its scope. It is also of great use to courses that cover the Renaissance and its material, intellectual, and social culture. ---Stephen J. Bury, ARLIS/NA Reviews Cole makes a strong case for Sofonisba being one of the most significant artists of the 16th century. ---Caroline Campbell, London Review of Books Sofonisba's Lesson tells the story of how it was possible for a young Cremona woman to make a name for herself in the competitive man's world of 1550s Italy and further afield in Spain . . . Having run through the biographical information intrigued and entranced, the reader will hit upon the catalog of works without even realizing it; Cole writes with a style that is both thought-provoking and relatable, his subject matter indelibly endearing. ---Cindy Helms, New York Journal of Books Shortlisted for Apollo's Book of the Year 2020


Author Information

Michael W. Cole is professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia University. His recent books include A New History of Italian Renaissance Art with Stephen J. Campbell and Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the Art of the Figure. He lives in New York City.

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