Exhibition: “Le Signore dell’Arte. Storie di donne tra ‘500 e ‘600”

With the exhibition “Le Signore dell’Arte. Storie di donne tra ‘500 e ‘600”, Milan’s Palazzo Reale brings the public’s attention to the artistic production of 34 women artists who lived between 1500 and 1600 and who stood out for their impressive modernity. The over 130 featured artworks, resulting from loans from some Italian and international important museums and private collections, highlight the personality of both well-known artists and those less well-known to the general public.

Into more details

Among the featured artists, visitors can admire works by Artemisia Gentileschi, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Elisabetta Sirani, Giovanna Garzoni, but also by female artists who have been recently rediscovered, such as the Roman noblewoman Claudia del Bufalo.

Besides highlighting the compositional mastery of these painters, in the exhibition, particular attention has been given to the social role these female artists played in their time, some of them established at the great international courts, others true entrepreneurs, all of them capable of confronting their own ideals and different lifestyles.

The paintings on display revolve around mythological subjects as well as around some important themes which seem very contemporary even today, such as female courage and rebellion as a reaction to male violence, the fight against paternal authority and artistic power and against the confinement reserved for women.