Self-portrait of Marietta Robusti

In this portrait – believed to be a self-portrait of Marietta Robusti – the sitter gazes outward at the audience with a slight smile. Turned in a three-quarter pose toward the spinet, her left hand floats above the keys as if surprised by the viewer while practicing her music. The book of music in her right hand is a testament to her learning in learning; notably, this self-portrait does not refer to her other artistic skill with a paintbrush. Robusti’s pale skin, rosy cheeks, and blonde hair are accentuated by her flat, black background, emphasizing physical qualities that were desirable in Venetian women at that time. Her white dress is demure, refined but unadorned. Together with her pearl necklace, her costume creates the image of a modest and respectable young woman, a type that was commonly used for betrothal portraits to advertise the sitter’s suitability as a potential bride. This portrait may be compared to another self-portrait by the Bolognese painter Lavinia Fontana, who depicted herself as a noblewoman at the harpsichord for the express purpose of introducing herself to her future husband’s family. Michael Cole has also seen Robusti's self-portrait as a response to the self-portraiture of Sofonisba Anguissola [1]. Although Robusti's skill with a brush was well-known and secured her invitations from Philip II of Spain and Maximilian of Austria, her father refused these invitations on her behalf and instead arranged for her to marry a man of his choosing and remain in his household [2]. This portrait, while displaying her artistic skill, focuses on her identity as a marriageable young woman.

[1] Michael Cole, Sofonisba’s Lesson: A Renaissance Artist and Her Work (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019), 153.
[2] Tyler Cowen, “Why Women Succeed, and Fail, in the Arts,” Journal of Cultural Economics 20, no. 2 (1996): 106.

• Cole, Michael W. Sofonisba’s Lesson: A Renaissance Artist and Her Work. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019.
• Cowen, Tyler. “Why Women Succeed, and Fail, in the Arts.” Journal of Cultural Economics 20, no. 2 (1996): 93-113.
• Woods-Marsden, Joanna. Renaissance Self-Portraiture: The Visual Construction of Identity and the Social Status of the Artist. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.