Lady In Ermine: The Story of A Woman Who Painted The Renaissance

I did not see much of Sofonisba’s influence at the San Francisco Legion of Honor exhibition Sargent & Spain. I thought I would see her influence since he went to Spain to study the historic painters.

But then I saw this painting, and I instantly thought of Sofonisba’s portrait of Eleonora de Medici at the Lazaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid.

I wondered if Sargent saw Sofonisba’s work at the Spanish court.

The exhibit credits the Velasquez as influence on this by Sargent:

It’s wonderful to note that the original influence on the Velasquez was Sofonisba’s:

Symbolic? The woman as vessel, passed over, century after century…the forgotten woman artist.