A Space of Their Own

A bust-length portrait of a man wearing an elaborate gold and black costume with a large white ruff. He appears to be in his mid-thirties, with thick brown hair and a beard. His mustache is twirled at both ends. He looks out directly at the viewer with a neutral expression, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Carlo Emanuele I

1632–37
Giovanna Garzoni, Carlo Emanuele I, 1632–37. Tempera on vellum, 42 x 33 cm. Musei Reali di Torino.
Musei Reali di Torino

A bust-length portrait of a woman, elegantly dressed in an embellished lace ruff that fills the bottom half of the composition. Her hair is piled on his head and adorned with pearls and other jewels. She wears large pearl earrings and looks directly at the viewer with a neutral expression.

Portrait of Infanta Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy

1632–37
Giovanna Garzoni, Portrait of Infanta Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy, 1632–37. Tempera on parchment. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

An oval, portrait miniature of a Black man, set against a bright blue background. He wears a red jacket embellished with gold braids and a lace color. He has a faint mustache and wears his curly hair grown out around his head. He looks out just past the viewer with a neutral expression.

Portrait of Zaga Christ

1635
Giovanna Garzoni, Portrait of Zaga Christ, 1635. Watercolor and body color on parchment, 5.7 cm. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College.
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College

A bust-length, oval portrait of a man, wearing a cardinal’s robe, medals, and hat. He has chin length hair, a small beard, and a mustache. He appears to be in his fifties, and he looks directly at the viewer with a neutral expression.

Cardinal Richelieu

1640-48
Giovanna Garzoni, Cardinal Richelieu, 164048. Tempera on parchment, 7.1 x 5.9 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

A long cloth, decorated with intricate floral and scroll designs. At the center there is an image of God in flowing robes. The floral decorations are very colorful, and the background is blue and white.

Antependium

1646
Giovanna Garzoni, Antependium, 1646. Taffeta surface mounted with silk applications, attached with starch paste, 102 x 432 cm. Museo di Santa Maria Novella, Florence.
Museo di Santa Maria Novella, Florence

A hyacinth flower, still attached to its bulb, fills most of the vertical canvas. The background is unresolved but includes a few other elements: four cherries, an artichoke, and a lizard. They are not arranged in a still-life format but instead appear as intense studies of four objects or groups of objects.

Hyacinth with Four Cherries, a Lizard and an Artichoke

1648
Giovanna Garzoni, Hyacinth with Four Cherries, a Lizard and an Artichoke, ca. 1648. Tempera and traces of black pencil on parchment, 53.2 x 40.1 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

A bust-length portrait of a man wearing a laurel crown and holding a stringed instrument, of which just the head and pegs are visible. The boy wears a blue robe draped across his shoulders and he looks out at the viewer directly, with a neutral expression. His curly brown hair wraps around the back of his head and down on one shoulder.

Self-Portrait as Apollo

ca. 1618– 1620
Giovanna Garzoni, Self-Portrait as Apollo, ca. 1618– 1620. Tempera on parchment, laid down on linen, 42 x 33 cm. Segretariato Generale della Repubblica, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome.
Segretariato Generale della Repubblica, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome

A botanical illustration of a pink flower, still attached to its stem and roots. There is a single flower, not yet in bloom, and then other buds readying to flowers. There are also green leaves. The background is neutral, inscribed with identification of the plant.

Musa

ca. 1630-32
Giovanna Garzoni, Musa, fol. 8 of Piante varie, ca. 1630-32. Watercolor on paper, 49.5 x 38 cm. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Washington, DC.
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Washington, DC

A glass vase on a table, overflowing with an extravagant floral arrangement. The flowers are colorful and fill the whole top half of the composition. There are some insects in and around the flowers and a piece of fruit, perhaps a lemon, on the table.

Vase with Flowers, a Peach and a Butterfly

ca. 1647
Giovanna Garzoni, Vase with Flowers, a Peach and a Butterfly, ca. 1647. Tempera and traces of black pencil on vellum, 66.3 x 47.9 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

A small brown and white dog sits smiling on a pink table, in front of a dark, neutral background. On the table there are two baked goods with some crumbs, as though the dog has been snacking on them. There is also a decorated ceramic cup. The dog wears a black color with three bells.

Lapdog with Biscotti and a Chinese Cup

ca. 1648
Giovanna Garzoni, Lapdog with Biscotti and a Chinese Cup, ca. 1648. Tempera on parchment, 27.5 x 39.5 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

A strange painting, with a man who is very large compared to the settling. He is standing in a mountain range and the viewer only sees his top half. On the ground in front of him are various items, including apples, a watermelon, baskets, ham, cherries, and a lemon. There is a gray dog in the left side of the composition, looking at the man. The man wears a tall tan hat and holds two chickens.

The Old Man of Artimino

ca. 1648
Giovanna Garzoni, The Old Man of Artimino, ca. 1648. Tempera on parchment, 38.2 x 60 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

A still life painting of lemons in a white ceramic bowls. Two of the lemons are still green and there are blossoms still attached to the stem and branches. A bee is sitting on one lemon at the center of the composition. The bowl is positioned on a brown table with a dark, neutral background.

Still Life with Bowl of Citrons

late 1640s
Giovanna Garzoni, Still Life with Bowl of Citrons, late 1640s. Tempera on vellum, 27.6 x 35.6 cm. Getty Museum.
Getty Museum