Antoon van Dyck (1599-1641), Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola, 1624, Oil on a canvas, 42 x 33, 5 cm (fragment), Knol Castle, Sevenoaks, Kent
On 12 July 1624, Antoon van Dyck met Sofonisba Anguissola in Palermo, Sicily. At that time, van Dyck, aged 25, was an emerging international artist who was profoundly studying the great Renaissance masters, particularly Titian. His Italian journey, which began in 1621, took him through Genoa, Venice, and Rome, eventually leading to the court of the Viceroy Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy in Palermo.
Sofonisba Anguissola, born in 1532, was one of the most distinguished female painters of the Renaissance Italy. She broke conventions by gaining recognition in a male-dominated field, particularly for her portraiture. Her talent attracted the attention of Philip II of Spain, who invited her to his court, where she served as a court painter and lady-in-waiting to the queen. Anguissola had connections with many prominent artists of her time, including Michelangelo, and developed her distinctive style.
By the time Van Dyck met her, Anguissola was 92 years old and in the final year of her life. During their meeting, Van Dyck sketched her, later using this sketch as the basis for a painted portrait. This meeting, noted by van Dyck in his travel journal, represents a significant moment in art history, symbolising the connection between the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Based on a sketch from Van Dyck’s Italian Sketchbook (now held in the British Museum), the portrait depicts Anguissola wearing a black dress and a white veil. It is considered one of her last depictions before she died in Palermo in 1625. Initially mistaken for a portrait of Catherine Fitzgerald, Countess of Desmond, it was later correctly identified as Anguissola. Another portrait, possibly of Anguissola on her deathbed and attributed to Van Dyck, is held in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, though its authenticity and the subject’s identity remain uncertain. No further meetings between the two artists were recorded.
Sofonisba Anguissola passed away in Palermo in November 1625, marking the end of a remarkable life that spanned nearly a century.