Fede Galizia

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Fede Galizia (b Milan, 1578; d Milan, 1630) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a pioneer of the still life genre.

[edit] Life

Fede Gallizi, better known as Galizia, was born in Milan in 1578. Her father, Nunzio Galizia, who moved to Milan from Trento, was a painter of miniatures. Fede (whose name means ‘ faith’) learned to paint from him. By the age of twelve, she was sufficiently accomplished as an artist to be mentioned by Giovanni P. Lomazzo, a painter and art theorist friend of her father “ this girl dedicates herself to imitate our most extraordinary artist"

At a young age, Fede was already an established portrait painter handling many commissioned works. Perhaps it was her father's influence as a miniaturist that led to Fede's attention to detail in her portraits. Her treatment of jewels and clothing made her a very desirable portrait painter. She was often commissioned to paint religious and secular themes as well, and there are several versions of her Judith and Holofernes that have survived in private collections. She also did miniatures and altarpieces for convents.

The style of her portraits derived from the naturalistic traditions of the Renaissance in Italy with a sharply realistic approach. Fede's artistic skills of drawing and painting are evident her "Portrait of Paolo Morgia", a Jesuit scholar, one of her earliest patronss and supporters. Morgia who was a writer and historian, was very pleased with Fede's work, this was depicted in the painting "Portrait of Paolo Morgia" that portrayed him in the process of writing a poem about the picture Fede was painted. Paolo Morigia (1596; Milan, Bib. Ambrosiana.). She received several public commissions for altarpieces in Milanese churches, one of these was the Noli me tangere (1616; Milan, S Stefano) she made for the altar of Saint Maria Maddalena Church.

When not painting portraits Fede was primarily interested in painting still lifes, a genre in which she excelled and was a pioneer. Although very few sources mention Fede's still-life paintings, they are the majority of her works that still survived. Sixty-three works have been catalogued as hers, of which forty-four are still lifes . One of her signed Still-lifes made in 1602 is said to be the first dated still-life by an Italian artist, and proves her involvement in this new style of painting.

Fede never married, she lived a happy life, and had a successful art career. She died in 1630 in Milan.

[edit] Style

Fede Galizia painted portraits, miniatures and altarpieces, but the most important part of her oeuvre, for which she earned her place in art history, are her still lifes. However her paintings were not given the recognition they deserve until well into the 20th century, when special attention was given to her work in studies made in 1963 and 1989. It was only then than she was rescued from oblivion.

Fede Galizia shows a style related to the Lombar mannerism of the late 16th century, based in Mantua, and known internationally, especially in France. Fede’s still lifes are among the earliest examples of painting in a genre in which women, partly because they were excluded from other kinds of painting, would excel.

Fede’s still-lifes are extremely detailed and quite different from her father's works; she would use more details and vibrant colors. Most all of Fede's still-lifes were works that included fruit bowls. Her still-lifes most always faced the viewer and were proportional in their parts. They usually featured a basket, or a bowl that contained a single kind of fruit, such as a peach or a pear with a few pieces scattered by the base of the bowl. Many of her still-lifes had fresh flowers or other fruits set on the counter to provide a noticeable contrast and scale as seen in her work titled, "Still-life with Peaches and a Porcelain and a Bowl". Fede's work displayed influences from such works as Caravaggio's "Basket of Fruit". She did not explore the more lavish compositions and forms taken up by many of her contemporaries working in this genre, she preferred instead to use a stricter more simplistic style like that of Francisco de Zurbarán.

Fede’s paintings were deft with detail, perfectly balanced, and her attention to shadow, light, and texture was unrivalled at the time. She was particularly good at creating inviting space in her paintings. Her compositions are not crowded. They look as if one could reach out and touch the fruit, grasp it, and pull it from the painting without disturbing the rest of the work. Her graceful, flowing arrangements were natural and poetic unlike their contrived predecessors.

Fede Galizia aesthetic treatment of still lifes would not be seen again until the middle of the century. The perception of the modern still life painting was formed entirely by her paintings. Many of the still life works we see today draw their influence from her original ideas. Currently, it is unknown just how many paintings Fede was responsible for. Many works that could have possibly been hers have been attributed to her male counterpart Panfilo Nuvolone, who drew significant inspiration from Fede.

[edit] References

• Ilya Sandra Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola,, Rizzoli International, 1992 ISBN 0847815447 on Questia
• Chadwick, Whitney, Women, Art, and Society, Thames and Hudson, London, 1990 ISBN 0500203547
• Harris, Anne Sutherland and Linda Nochlin, Women Artists: 1550-1950, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Knopf, New York, 1976 ISBN 0394411692