The Artist's Sister Elena in the Garb of a Nun

Sofonisba Anguissola painted this around 1551, when she was about 20 and there was almost no path for a woman to become a painter. Her father, a minor nobleman in Cremona, had chosen to educate his daughters in art, and Sofonisba painted the people nearest to her. This is her sister Elena, shown in the habit of a novice. Elena entered a convent in Mantua and took the name Sister Minerva. In her hands is a small red leather book tipped with gold. For a long time no one believed a young woman had made it, and the picture was attributed to Titian until Sofonisba's name was recognised again.