Apart from marking the occasion of a marriage, little is known about the patronage of such portraits, or how they were worn or carried and by whom. The slightly larger dimensions of the male portrait, along with the raised decoration on the back of the panel, suggest that the two images originally would have fit together to form a locket or вЂњportrait capsule,вЂќ symbolizing their union. The man, almost a mirror image of the woman, wears complimentary colors with a similarly upturned collar. The woman wears red, the traditional color for Bolognese brides, and she is bedecked in jewelry. These small paintings were likely created on the occasion of a marriage between the two people depicted. The double portrait of the man and woman, now in the SCMA, is part of a larger group of miniature double portraits. She took over the family workshop from her father, employing her husband as manager.

She began her career painting portraits, eventually becoming one of the most sought-after portraitists in Bologna. Fontana also studied art at the University of Bologna, where she earned a degree. Being born into a family of artists was one of the few ways women who wished to pursue art could receive artistic training. Fontana was the daughter of painter Prospero Fontana, who was also her teacher. She was born in Bologna, a city that produced a remarkably large number of women artists. Lavinia Fontana was one of the most famous women artists of Renaissance Italy.

They also add a new dimension to the historic collection as objects that may not have been considered вЂњfineвЂќ art at the time of their creation, but instead pertained more to the world of material culture. These paintings are an important addition to the collection as the earliest works of art by a named woman artist. Guest blogger Danielle Carrabino, Ph.D is an Italian Renaissance and Baroque art scholar, educator, and the Curator of Painting and Sculpture at SCMA.Д®arlier this year, the SCMA acquired two small portraits by the Italian Renaissance artist, Lavinia Fontana (1552вЂ“1614).

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