Anguissola’s quiet and intimate self-portraits display her poised manner and gleaming eyes. Often depicting herself playing music or working at the easel with her paints all laid out and her brush at the ready, Anguissola epitomised what a mid-sixteenth-century woman with an education could be. Her success was so impactful that she inspired noble families from across Europe to instil in their daughters similar professional ambitions. Capturing women engaged in intellectual pursuits, she famously portrayed her sisters in the midst of a conversational and characterful game of chess.
