This story is a reminder message to all fathers, which is especially timely since Father’s Day has recently just come and gone. If you think you are not making a profound impression on your daughter, think again. Fede Galizia is one of the many women artists featured in this series who learned her trade from her successful miniature artist father, Nunzio Galizia. Because of her father’s guidance and tutelage, Fede by age 12 was a skilled artist who later gained a globally stellar name for herself.
Recognized by Gian Paolo Lomazzo, a well-known painter and writer of the time, Fede developed her diverse style producing portraits, still life, and religious themed pictures in a field controlled and dominated by men. Born in Milan, Italy in 1578 where most women artists were denied the opportunity to receive commissioned work, Fede broke through that barrier and garnered many such commissions.
Launching Point
By the age of 18, Galizia was sought-after to paint such dignitaries as the historian and scholar, Paolo Morigia for the church of San Gerolamo. At a later date, the painting was given to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan where it hangs today. I had the opportunity to visit this art gallery in 2003 while in Italy and remember this portrait well. Morigia holding his spectacles, is one of her earliest benefactors and is posing at his desk writing lyrics to a medieval poem. This painting became Fede’s launching point which propelled her into the art world as a successful portrait painter.
Curiosity Peaked
My curiosity peaked while researching this artist. Sofonisba Anquissola whom I featured previously in Part 1 of this project, was her contemporary doing similar portraiture and genre pieces. They lived just fifty miles apart, Fede in Milan and Sofonisba in Cremona. I wonder if they met or knew each other. Can you imagine the lively conversations! I can imagine the discussions of frustrating inequities and obstacles they encountered. Though Sofonisba was discovered by historians early on, Fede disappeared into obscurity and was not recognized until the 20th Century.
Multipying Genres
Galizia continued to garner portrait and religious themed commissions throughout her career mostly from the benefaction of Milanese churches. She exhibited and developed a wide range of subjects and ideas portraying topics such as Judith with the Head of Holofernes currently on display at the Ringling Brothers Museum in Sarasota, Florida which I visited in the early 1990s. Here, Fede’s attention to detail especially in the lace and jewelry is astonishing. Though her style has been compared to that of Caravaggio, the historians ignored her like so many other female painters.
Better Late Than Never
Fede Galizia went on to paint many still lifes depicting all ranges of fruits and vessels. Her use of light and shadow portraying the chiaroscuro technique is flawless and again is reminiscent of Caravaggio’s style. It took nearly 500 years, but Fede finally got the recognition she deserved. Many of her paintings have sold at auction for six figures and some upwards of a million dollars. The Uffizi in Florence, Italy and the Metropolitan in New York are two of the many Museums that exhibit her work. I guess fame is always better late than never.
Dancing Backwards 3 Coming in September 2026 at Bronze Coast Gallery, in Beautiful Cannon Beach, Oregon. The legend of ” Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and in high heels.” Ann Richards.
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