Lavinia Fontana was a mother of 11 children and one of the most celebrated painters of the 16th century. She did not see these as contradictions. She created portraits and altarpieces that reflected the two sides of her life: care and responsibility at home and ambition in her professional world. Rather than separating these worlds, she brought them into conversation through art, portraying women, children, and domestic relationships with depth and dignity.
This balance is especially evident in her family portrait “Portrait of Bianca degli Utili Maselli and Her Children.”
