Giovanna Garzoni

Giovanna Garzoni (1600–1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque era. She was unusual for Italian artists of thetime for two reasons: first, in that her themes were mainly decorative and luscious still-lifes of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and second, because she was a woman. Garzoni was born in Ascoli Piceno. Her training was with an otherwise unknown painter from her native town of Ascoli Piceno. She gained substantial success at her trade in Rome, Venice, Florence (1642–1651), Naples, and Turin. She was patronized by Cassiano dal Pozzo and Anna Colonna, the wife of Taddeo Barberini. In Turin she painted for Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy. She returns to Rome in the 1650s. In 1666, Garzoni bequeathed her entire estate to the...