Death Mask of a Woman

Lavinia Fontana was an Italian portrait painter active in Rome and Bologna during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Born in 1552, she became one of the first widely documented female artists of her era, specializing in oil portraits of aristocratic and papal families. Her work is characterized by meticulous attention to fabric, jewelry, and facial likeness, executed with a refined technique that secured her commissions across Italy's most powerful households. She died in Rome in 1614.

Bologna, Italy