Arcadópolis
Self-Portrait
Sofonisba Anguissola, c. 1556
What you see
Sofonisba paints herself from the chest up inside a circle, her face almost frontal and her body barely turned. She looks at the viewer calmly, with a serious expression. Her coppery hair is parted in the middle and gathered in braids. The figure fills the lower half of the circle, with her head right at its center.
Three colors are enough: the green background, the black dress and the white collar. A web of fine cracks covers the whole surface, especially the face and background. Spot the white strings dangling from her collar, the horizontal fastenings of her dress and the faint lettering along the left edge.
About Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola was born in Cremona into a noble family whose father wanted all six of his daughters to study art and letters, something very rare at the time. She painted her sisters playing, laughing and posing, and made so many self-portraits that her face was one of the best known of her age. She was painter and lady-in-waiting at the court of Philip II in Madrid and lived past ninety; in her old age the young Anthony van Dyck visited her in Palermo and drew her.
More by Sofonisba Anguissola
The Chess Game
Self-Portrait at the Easel
Self-Portrait with a Book
Miniature Self-Portrait
Portrait of Her Father Amilcare with Minerva and Asdrubale
Boy Bitten by a Crayfish
Portrait of Minerva Anguissola
Portrait of the Marquess Massimiliano Stampa
Elisabeth of Valois Holding a Portrait of Philip II
Philip II
Juana of Austria with a Young Girl
The Arcadópolis Museum has 443 public-domain works in 40 rooms, free to explore in 3D in your browser.