Lavinia Fontana’s Minerva in the Act of Dressing: 1613
Lavinia Fontana’s Minerva in the Act of Dressing is located in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy. This is one of Fontana’s mythological paintings, which is one of the first times that we see this kind of work from a female painter. The female nude is inspired from classical sculpture portraying Venus. The back of Minerva is thin with no muscular shape expect for the little dimension showing the shoulder blades. Her rear-end also resembles classical sculpture with how flat it lies.
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Cleopatra: 1621
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Cleopatra is in the Collection of Amedeo Marandotti in Milan, Italy. Gentileschi is known for putting her own features on to the women that she paints. This painting depicts the suicide of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. A woman is shown lying down in a sensual pose one arm stretched up, the other holding the snake, and legs crossed like Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus. This painting shows the vivid realism in the figure. The female body is more realistic than those often depicted in other Renaissance art.