Lavinia Fontana. Portrait of Isabella Ruini Angelelli with her lady-in-waiting

In 1678, on the subject of Lavinia Fontana (24 August 1552-11 August 1614), the re -nowned daughter of Prospero, the historian Carlo Cesare Malvasia recounted how all wrote that the ladies of Bologna would “vie with each other [...] to have her stay with them for a while, entertaining her and showering her with extraordinary demonstrations of love and respect, considering it good fortune to be seen with her in public, and in gatherings, accompanied by the talented young woman”. The painter – who had grad- uated at the Alma Mater in Bologna –, skilled in writing, playing music, and debating in academies, was a source of pride for Bologna as well as an animating spirit in salons and gatherings of high-ranking women, equally inclined towards the cultural delights that the city enjoyed during the last quarter of the 16th century. Lavinia frequented the palazzi and country villas of the female élite belonging to the senatorial families of Bologna, sharing their academic literary pursuits and forming friendships with some of these women. It is no coincidence that, in her vast production of private and public works, a noteworthy and substantial part is dedicated to official or family portraits of women, allegorical or mythological, individual or in groups. The painter was skilled in composition and so did not limit herself to the depiction of sumptuous artefacts placed as ornaments of the sitters she portrayed, but placed them in recognisable contexts, such as rooms of the their own palazzi, or else in alcoves, when it came to imagining the ladies as Venuses, Galateas or Judiths, or else including the object that had made them famous in the composition.