Bolognese School, 17th Century

Bolognese School, 17th Century

Portrait of Ginevra Cantofoli

Oil on canvas, 48 x 39.5 cm

With frame, 57 x 50 cm

This painting depicts a female painter caught in the midst of her creative process. She gazes directly at the viewer as if interrupted, holding a palette and brushes, the tools of her trade. Behind her is an easel holding her latest work: a bust-length portrait of a young man. The concept of a "painting within a painting" creates a double illusion for the observer.

Both this technique and the practice of depicting oneself with the tools of one's art were often used by female painters to assert their cultural and professional independence in a male-dominated world. It was a world where it was difficult for women to succeed due to centuries of ingrained habits and stereotypes that pervaded the art world. The fame achieved by some women in painting was recognized both by their contemporaries and in subsequent centuries, continuing to this day. Many of them chose to create self-portraits or to be portrayed while practicing their art, as did great artists like Lavinia Fontana, Sofonisba Anguissola, Elisabetta Sirani, Artemisia Gentileschi, Rosalba Carriera, and Violante Series Cerotti.

Portraits often took on a metaphorical meaning through symbolic references that allowed the painter to be interpreted as an allegory for painting itself, although this specific work contains no such allegorical objects or references.

Focusing on the subject's identity, her features, clothing, and hairstyle—held in place by a tight headdress—are reminiscent of an important 17th-century Bolognese painter and her female subjects: Ginevra Cantofoli (1608-1672). She was a student of Elisabetta Sirani and was active in her native city throughout her life.

Stylistically, the work belongs to the same century that Cantofoli was active, mirroring her tones, soft chiaroscuro, clothing, dark background, and the diaphanous light illuminating the woman’s face. The artist, male or female, follows the stylistic footsteps of the subject, perhaps out of stylistic consistency or a close artistic connection, possibly being a colleague, student, or admirer of Cantofoli. This result recalls the work in which Bernardino Campi portrays Sofonisba Anguissola, which was actually painted by Sofonisba herself. This interplay of mutual representation might lead us to suspect that the man depicted on the canvas on the easel could be the same artist who created the portrait of the female artist.

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Unpardoned. Vault. € 4,500 = Monthly instalment € 300 for 15 months.

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