(b Bologna, bapt 24 Aug 1552; d Rome, 11 Aug 1614). Daughter of (1) Prospero Fontana. She was trained by her father and followed his Mannerist style. Her first recorded works, which date from 1575, were small paintings for private devotion, such as the Holy Family (Dresden, Gemäldegal.). By 1577 she had become established as a portrait painter in Bologna. Works of this date include the Self-portrait at the Harpsichord (Rome, Gal. Accad. S Luca) and the portrait of Senator Orsini (Bordeaux, Mus. B.-A.). Her portrait style reflects the formality of central Italian models as well as the naturalistic tendencies of the north Italian tradition. The elegantly costumed Orsini is shown seated at a table, with a suite of rooms opening behind him, a setting recalling such Florentine portraits of the 1530s as Agnolo Bronzino’s Bartolommeo Panciatichi (Florence, Uffizi). Lavinia used a similar setting for other portraits, including the Gozzadini Family (1584; Bologna, Pin. N.). Female sitters are also shown in elaborate dress, with particular attention paid to details of embroidery and jewels, and they are often accompanied by small dogs (e.g. Baltimore, Walters A.G.; Florence, Pitti). In naturalism and treatment of detail her portraits are comparable with those of her famous north Italian predecessor, Sofonisba Anguissola (e.g. Portrait of a Woman, 1557; Berlin, Gemäldegal.).

Part of the Fontana (ii) family

• Fontana (i), Lavinia
  • Fontana (ii)
  • Italy, §III, 4(iv): High Renaissance & Mannerist painting, c 1500–c 1600: Other schools & artists
  • Italy, §XVI, 3: Art education: Education of women artists
  • Rome, §III, 5(i): Art life and organization, 1601–1700: Artistic environment
  • Tiarini, Alessandro
  • Women and art history, §II, 1(ii): Renaissance to early modern
  • patrons and collectors
    • Este (i): (14) Alessandro d’Este
  • works
    • Bologna, §II, 2: Art life and organization, after c 1400
    • Dress, §V, 1(iii): Southern Europe, 16th century