Art in the Evening: 'Sofonisba Anguissola, Portraiture, and the Art of the Gesture'

Step into the world of sixteenth-century portraiture and discover how women artists turned the human body into a powerful language. This engaging reception and talk by Bronwen Wilson will explore the poses and gestures in Renaissance portraits, revealing the inventive ways women - led by the trailblazing Sofinisba Anguissola - used "the mute eloquence of gesture" to make their paintings speak. In an era when portraiture was often dismissed as a mechanical skill suited to women perceived to lack imagination, these artists defied convention. They infused their sitters with personality, narrative, and emotion - proving that a glance, a hand, or the tilt of a head could speak volumes.

Join us for an illuminating evening of art, history, and conversation inspired by the museum's fall exhibition, "Poetic Portraits: Identity and Allegory in 16th-Century Europe."

EVENT PROGRAM

4:30-5 p.m. Wine & Hors d'Oeuvres Reception

5-5:45 p.m. Lecture with Bronwen Wilson

5:45-6 p.m. Q & A, Free Time to Explore the Exhibition

About the Speaker: Bronwen Wilson is the Edward W. Carter Chair in European Art at UCLA, where she also directs the Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies and the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. She currently serves as Vice President of the Renaissance Society of America. Her research focuses on early modern visual culture, with particular interests in portraiture, physiognomy, and cross-cultural exchange. She has published widely on these topics and is the editor and co-editor of several recent volumes. A new book on portraiture and physiognomy is forthcoming.

$65 Non-Members | $50 Members

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