Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Sofonisba AnguissolaSofonisba AnguissolaIn The Chess Game, three of Anguissola’s sisters gather at the board with a fourth figure watching behind them. Their expressions and glances take you through the scene as quickly as the next move. The National Museum in Poznań keeps the 1555 painting, a good place to see how she makes a family…0
  2. 2Artemisia GentileschiArtemisia GentileschiBorn Jul 8, 1593The broken wheel in Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria gives the saint’s story a physical presence, while the face and direct glance bring you back to the painter. Look at the way she holds the palm as well as the wheel. The National Gallery in London has this work in its collection.0
  3. 3Lavinia FontanaLavinia FontanaThe dress, jewelry, and music in Lucia Bonasoni Garzoni tell you about the sitter before you know her name. Notice the delicacy of the white dog with a pink bow on the brooch pinned to the dark dress. The portrait is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where it can be read as a…0
  4. 4Elisabetta SiraniElisabetta SiraniBorn Jan 8, 1638In The Madonna and Child with a Swallow, the small bird gives the figures something to do with their hands and attention. Sirani recorded the work in her own diary. Start with the painting at the National Gallery of Victoria and then read her description to see what she considered worth recording.0
  5. 5Plautilla NelliPlautilla NelliAt Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Nelli’s Last Supper runs about seven meters across. The long table gives her room to vary the poses and gestures along the full width. Seeing it at that scale helps you understand what the Dominican painter made for a convent refectory.0
  6. 6Judith LeysterJudith LeysterIn the Washington National Gallery’s Self-Portrait, Leyster turns from a canvas to meet the viewer, with brushes and palette still in hand. There’s a musician on the easel, and her turn gives the portrait some of the liveliness of that figure. Look there first to see how she presents two kinds of…0
  7. 7Rachel RuyschRachel RuyschBorn Jun 3, 1664Flowers in a Vase, in London’s National Gallery, asks you to look low as well as high. The blooms occupy different depths against the dark ground, and a small detail on a stem can be as precisely seen as the largest flower. Notice how the apparent looseness of the bouquet depends on carefully…0
  8. 8Clara PeetersClara PeetersAt the Mauritshuis, look past the cheeses and pretzels toward the metal lid of the jug. Peeters worked a tiny reflection of herself into it. The detail gives the painter a place in a picture that seems at first to be about the different textures you might find on a table.0
  9. 9Fede GaliziaFede GaliziaIn the National Gallery of Art’s still life with apples, pears, cucumbers, figs, plums, and a melon, the woven basket gives some of the fruit a raised position. The vegetables laid out below it come much closer to you. Look at the change from rough rind to smooth skin to see how Galizia makes a…0
  10. 10Louise MoillonLouise MoillonThe fruit in Still Life with Cherries, Strawberries and Gooseberries is near enough to count, but holding your attention at that distance is part of Moillon’s skill. The Norton Simon Museum painting lets you compare the way light sits on the darker cherries and on a gooseberry’s almost translucent…0