It was commissioned in Rome by Scipione Borghese, taken to Paris during the Napoleonic period as part of Pauline Bonaparte’s dowry, and later returned to Italy and bought by the Italian government in 1902.
Lavinia Fontana was an Italian Mannerist painter of the sixteenth century. Her father, Prospero Fontano, was a painter; therefore, she was trained by her father. Being the daughter of a painter allowed her to become one, which was not that unusual a thing since female artists were not that much accepted in her time. Female artists of the time were restricted by society to paint the themes considered appropriate, like portraits or religious scenes. For such a groundbreaking female artist like Fontana, I decided I would show her groundbreaking painting: Minerva dressing, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. By painting Minerva nude, Fontana became one of the first female artists of the sixteenth century to study the female body from real life and paint female nudes. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom, arts, and strategic warfare. Composition consists of three subtle vertical fields, with Minerva acting as the focal point, unifying the interior and exterior. In the painting, we see Minerva removing her armour and putting down her weapons. She transforms from a war goddess into a symbol of peace and modesty. In the background, we see Cupid, giving up his weapons and therefore repressing the shift from physical desire to spiritual love. In the background, an owl (Minerva's traditional symbol of wisdom) rests near an olive tree, which represents peace and harmony. Fontana’s peaceful, modest Minerva honors her patron’s virtue while establishing her own legacy as a master of the female nude.
This painting by Lavinia Fontana, the daughter of painter Prospero Fontana, depicts Minerva, a Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Athena representing her wisdom aspect (Athena’s war goddess aspect is represented by Bellona in Roman mythology).
The provided text describes both Fontana and this painting as groundbreaking. It was uncommon for female artists in the sixteenth century to receive recognition, and female artists during this time generally confined themselves to only painting certain subjects, such as portraits or religious scenes. Nevertheless, receiving training from her father granted Fontana a unique privilege over her contemporaries.
The provided text also points out the uniqueness of Fontana’s nude depiction of Minerva.
