Editing Sofonisba Anguissola (section)

==Childhood and training==
[[File:Portrait of Bianca Ponzoni Anguissola, by Sofonisba Anguissola.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Portrait of Bianca Ponzoni Anguissola|Portrait of Bianca Ponzoni Anguissola, the artist's mother]]'', 1557]]
[[File:Sofonisba Anguissola - Self-Portrait - c. 1556.jpg|alt=|thumb|262px|[[Miniature Self Portrait (Anguissola, Boston)|Miniature self-portrait]], 1556. Boston Museum of Fine Arts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Self-Portrait; Sofonisba Anguissola (Italian (Cremonese), about 1532–1625); Italian; about 1556 |url=https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/self-portrait-33656 |publisher=Museum of Fine Arts |location=Boston |id=Accession number 60.155}}</ref>]]

Sofonisba Anguissola was born into a poor but ancient [[Italian nobility|Italian noble family]] in [[Cremona]], [[Lombardy]] in 1532, the oldest of seven children, six of whom were girls.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sofonisba-Anguissola|title=Sofonisba Anguissola {{!}} Biography, Art, & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> Her father, Amilcare Anguissola, was a member of the [[Cremona|Cremonese]] nobility, and her mother, Bianca Ponzone, was also of noble background.  The family lived near the site of a famous 2nd century B.C. battle, the [[Battle of the Trebia|battle of the Trebbia]], between Romans and Carthaginians, and several members of the Anguissola family were named after ancient [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginian]] historical characters: Amilcare was named for the Carthaginian general [[Hamilcar Barca]]; he named his first daughter after the tragic Carthaginian figure [[Sophonisba]] and his only son Asdrubale after the warlord [[Hasdrubal Barca]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://owlcation.com/humanities/Life-and-Works-of-Sofonisba-Anguissola-Noblewoman-Portraitist-of-Philip-II|title=Life and Works of Sofonisba Anguissola, Noblewoman, Portraitist of Philip II|newspaper=Hubpages|language=en|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> Amilcare Anguissola, inspired by [[Baldassare Castiglione]]'s book [[The Book of the Courtier|Il Cortigiano]], encouraged all his daughters (Sofonisba, [[Elena Anguissola|Elena]], [[Lucia Anguissola|Lucia]], Europa, Minerva and Anna Maria) to cultivate and perfect their talents. Four of her sisters (Elena, Lucia, Europa and Anna Maria) also became painters, but Anguissola was by far the most accomplished and renowned and taught her younger siblings.<ref name=":0" /> [[Elena Anguissola]] ({{Circa|1532}} – 1584) abandoned painting to become a nun. Both Anna Maria and Europa gave up art upon marrying, while [[Lucia Anguissola]] (1536 or 1538 – {{circa}} 1565–1568), the best painter of Sophonisba's sisters, died young. The remaining sister, Minerva, became a writer and [[Latin]] scholar. Asdrubale, Sophonisba's brother, studied music and Latin, but not painting.

Her aristocratic father made sure that Anguissola and her sisters received a well-rounded education that included the fine arts. Anguissola was fourteen when her father sent her and her sister Elena to study with [[Bernardino Campi]], a respected portrait and religious painter of the Lombard school.<ref name=":0" /> When, in 1550, Campi moved to Milan,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dIXYoHx46-4C/page/111 |title=Gli Artisti Italiani E Stranieri negli Stati Estensi - Catalogo Storico Corredato Di Documenti Inediti |lang=it  |trans-title=Italian and Foreign Artists in the lands of the Este (family) - Historical Catalogue With Unpublished Documents |last=Campori |first=Marchese Giuseppe |location=Modena |publisher=R.D. Camera|publication-date=1865
}}</ref> Anguissola continued her studies with painter [[Bernardino Gatti]] (known as Il Sojaro), a pupil of [[Antonio da Correggio|Correggio]]'s.<ref name=":1" /> Anguissola's apprenticeship with local painters set a precedent for women to be accepted as students of art.<ref>{{Citation  | last = Greer  | first = Germaine
 | title = The Obstacle Race: The Fortunes of Women Painters and Their Work  | place = New York  | publisher = Farrar
 | year = 1978  | page = 180}}</ref><ref>{{Citation  | last = Glenn
 | first = Sharlee Mullins  | title = Sofonisba Anguissola: History's Forgotten Prodigy  | journal = Women's Studies  | volume = 18  | issue = 2/3  | page = 296 | year = 1990 | doi=10.1080/00497878.1990.9978837
}}</ref> Dates are uncertain, but Anguissola probably continued her studies under Gatti for about three years (1551–1553).

One of Anguissola's most important early works was ''[[Portrait of Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba Anguissola|Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba Anguissola]]'' (c. 1550).  The unusual double portrait depicts Anguissola's art teacher in the act of painting a portrait of her.<ref name=":1" />

In 1554, at age twenty-two, Anguissola traveled to [[Rome]], where she spent her time sketching various scenes and people. While in Rome, she was introduced to [[Michelangelo]] by another painter who was familiar with her work. Anguissola initially showed Michelangelo a drawing of a laughing girl, but the painter challenged her to draw a weeping boy, a subject which he felt would be more challenging.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theflorentine.net/art-culture/2017/11/michelangelo-buonarroti-women/|title=Michelangelo Buonarroti and his women|date=2 November 2017|website=The Florentine|language=en-US|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> Anguissola drew ''[[Child Bitten by a Lobster|Boy Bitten by a Crayfish]]'' and sent it back to Michelangelo, who immediately recognized her talent.<ref name=":0" /> Michelangelo subsequently gave Anguissola sketches from his notebooks to draw in her own style and offered advice on the results. For at least two years, Anguissola continued this informal study, receiving substantial guidance from Michelangelo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.psu.edu/unspokenartists/2015/09/10/sofonisba-anguissola-late-renaissance/|title=Sofonisba Anguissola: Late Renaissance {{!}} Unspoken Artists|website=sites.psu.edu|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref>