Discuss the rise to prominence of women artists during this period.

What will be an ideal response?

Women seemed to be increasingly encouraged to display their artistic virtuosity. The presence of powerful court women probably influenced the education of women and the likelihood of their becoming artists. Sofonisba Anguissola drew attention to the Mannerist “hand” in her portrait of her teacher, Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba Anguissola, in which she collapsed the subject-object relationship (who is subject to whose gaze?). Lavinia Fontana, in her painting Consecration of the Virgin, focused on the children of the patrons rather than the patrons themselves and also used the serpentine pose for one of the angels.