Sofonisba Anguissola (ca. 1535–1625) 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.
Awards and Recognition
- Shortlisted for Apollo's Book of the Year 2020
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.
"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'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
"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
"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 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’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
"Michael Cole’s Sofonisba’s Lesson brilliantly brings this female artist to life, exploring her art within the context of the networks and relationships that formed her world. . . . Sofonisba’s Lesson makes a significant and welcome contribution to our understanding of Sofonisba Anguissola’s life and art, and to the expanding field of studies on early modern women artists, accessible to specialists and enthusiasts alike."—Adelina Modesti, Parergon
"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
"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
