Crabbed

On 20 January 1562, Tommaso Cavalieri sent the grand duke Cosimo de’ Medici two drawings, described by Vasari  as “a sketch of Cleopatra from the divine hand of Michelangelo.  [And] the other by Sofonisba’s hand, in which a young girl is laughing and a little boy is crying because he put his hand ... into a basket of crabs.”

In his letter Cavalieri writes:  “I believe that [Sofonisba’s] may stand comparison with many other drawings, for it is not simply beautiful, but also exhibits considerable invention. ... Michelangelo who had seen a drawing done by her hand of a smiling girl, said that he would have liked to see a weeping boy, as a subject more difficult to draw.  After he wrote to her about it, she sent him this drawing, which was a portrait of her brother.”

So the surly old god, dread wielder of the brush and chisel, was setting playful assignments for a girl.

Exalted homework!

Though perhaps Vasari saw (or remembered) a stronger contrast than exists, an allegorical war of genders.  The girl here (Minerva) isn't laughing, but ruefully concerned, half smiling.  "And yet you wíll weep and know why."

Nine