Sofonisba Anguissola

Sofonisba Anguissola

Sofonisba Anguissola noticed the details. The way someone’s hands fidget when they're nervous. How sisters tease each other in silence. The shape of a smile that stretches across a face.

She paired that quiet observation with a uniquely talented painter’s gift, capturing not just appearances but emotion: laughter, sorrow, stillness. The flicker of a child’s thought. The softness behind a queen’s gaze. She captured life.

Today, that might not seem extraordinary. But in the 16th century, it was nearly unheard of. Sofonisba was considered remarkable.

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Sofonisba was born around 1532 in Cremona, a charming northern Italian city known for its violin makers and Italy’s tallest brick campanile. Here, narrow cobblestone lanes weave through the ancient city. The history is long, going back to the third century BCE as one of the first Roman colonies. And beyond the city's walls, tranquil farmland stretches toward the river Po.