The Painters and the Muses

Diana and Acaeton

Titian

https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/mythical-powerful-vittoria-colonna

Vittoria Colonna: Michaelangelo

Victoria Colonna was indeed Michaelangelo's muse (Musini, 2020). He drew several works of art including the Pietà pictured here for Vittoria (McHugh, 2021). They shared a love affair of the arts and religious matter (Dunant, 2018). She wrote him sonnets in return.

https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/mythical-powerful-vittoria-colonna

Simonetta Vespucci: Botticelli

There is a reason that we see the same familiar blonde-haired women in Sandro Botticelli's revered works. Both Botticelli and Guiliano Medici were in love with the 17-year-old (Uffizi Gallery, n.d.). Botticelli, however opted to be buried at her feet. Simonetta Vespucci, cousin to Amerigo Vespucci (Álvarez, 2023) created the Rennaisance standard for beauty. She had a high forehead, long blonde hair, and a fair complexion (Lamichhane, 2012). For ten years after her untimely death, Botticelli painted her (Álvarez, 2023). She is reborn in his Birth of Venus.
My favorite Botticelli work, La Prima Vera, is pictured here, with Simonetta making her lovely appearance.

Mona Lisa: Leonardo DaVinci

Once thought to be a painting of Ferrante's aunt, Costanza D'Avalos or possibly even DaVinci's mother (Nix, 2018), the Mona Lisa has captured global interest for centuries. In 2005, Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, was identified as the woman in the portrait when a note was found from DaVinci's apprentice. Lisa, a mother of five, sat for this painting for her husband who commissioned it while she was pregnant. It is not known why DaVinci never gave it to the silk merchant. Lisa is an icon for femineity and has appeared in music, film, and the arts for five hundred years.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/mona-lisa-relocated-louvre-1st-time-2005/story?id=64384961

Vittoria Colonna: Titian

Here we see Vittoria again for another painter. The Penitent Magdalene is held in the Palazzo Pitti, a Medici Palace in Florence. Colonna, through an intermediary of course, commissioned a painting of Mary Magdelene who was "teary eyed" and "beautiful" (McHugh, 2021). It was seen as improper for women to commission art for themselves directly (Iacob, 2022). Titian chose Vittoria herself for the portrait (McHugh, 2021). The figure is indicative of characteristics of early modern worship as revealed through Colonna's poetry.
https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/mythical-powerful-vittoria-colonna

Sofonisba Anguissola Self Portrait

While not the subject of another's art, Sofonisba was a late Renaissance painter of note. She was known for her detailed portraiture (Kuiper, 2009). She was the eldest daughter of a nobleman who sent her and her sister to apprentice under a local painter. She once sent a copy of a drawing Michealangelo sent to her back to him for his critique. He encouraged her to keep going. She was one of the first female artists of the renaissance to gain global prominence. She was once a lady in waiting to the Spanish Queen. She married in 1571 with a dowry provided by the king. She was widowed 8 years later. She did remarry later. Her paintings were often attributed to men such as DaVinci and Titian because Sofonisba was such a talented woman. Her paintings serve as inspiration for other female artists. She was a leader in the art world until she died at 93.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sofonisba-Anguissola

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