#childreninart — Public Fediverse posts

Pierre Bonnard
Children Playing in a Garden
1899
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#PierreBonnard #childreninart #gardenscene #art #painting

Pierre Bonnard
Children Playing in a Garden
1899
---
#PierreBonnard #childreninart #gardenscene #art #painting

Pierre Bonnard
Children Playing in a Garden
1899
---
#PierreBonnard #childreninart #gardenscene #art #painting

Pierre Bonnard
Children Playing in a Garden
1899
---
#PierreBonnard #childreninart #gardenscene #art #painting

Pierre Bonnard
Children Playing in a Garden
1899
---
#PierreBonnard #childreninart #gardenscene #art #painting

"Antonietta Gonsalvus," Lavinia Fontana, c. 1594-95.

Fontana (1552-1614) was a noted portrait painter who is now viewed as Western Europe's first female career artist, in that she relied on her commissions for her income...which was good because she was an acclaimed artist who got a lot of work and drew substantial patronage from the wealthy, rare for a woman of the time.

Not a lot is known of Antonietta Gonsalvus, other than she was the child of a man exhibited as a "wild man" and who certainly had hypertrichosis, or excess body hair. What makes this remarkable is that, in a time when people like this were viewed as less than human, Fontana gives her a sweetness, letting us see her as a normal child, and reminding us that this is a human being. (The note she's holding reveals her identity.) What could have been a work of exploitation turns into a gesture of compassion, and in a way, a gentle confrontation with the viewer.

From the Château Royal de Blois, France.

#Art #WomenArtists #Hypertrichosis #Compassion #ChildrenInArt