Portrait of Giovanna Garzoni

Giovanna Garzoni was one of the most celebrated Italian artists of the seventeenth century — a miniaturist, botanical illustrator, and still life painter who worked for the Medici in Florence, the Savoy in Turin, and eventually the French royal court. By 1665, when Maratta painted her portrait in Ascoli Piceno, she was elderly and one of the most respected female artists in Italy. A portrait by Maratta — Rome's leading painter — of Italy's leading female artist is a document of mutual professional recognition. Garzoni was born in Ascoli Piceno, so a portrait held there connects the subject to her hometown. The portrait of an artist by an artist involves a particular set of conventions: Garzoni might be shown with her tools or a work in progress, or she might appear in the standard three-quarter aristocratic format that Maratta applied to noble sitters. Either way, the commission reflects Garzoni's professional status and social standing in the Italian art world.

Maratta's portrait of a female artist likely balances the conventions of aristocratic portraiture with potential reference to Garzoni's professional identity. If she is shown with miniature or still life materials — brushes, a flower study — the composition includes still life elements within the portrait. Maratta's flesh modeling for an older female sitter would require careful balance between flattery and honest likeness, both of which his mature style could accommodate.