Barbara Longhi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Longhi
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Self-portrait
as Saint Catherine of Alexandria |
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| Born | 21 September 1552 |
| Died | 23 December 1638 (aged 86) Ravenna, Italy
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| Nationality | Italian |
| Education | Luca Longhi |
| Known for | Painting |
Barbara Longhi (born September 21, 1552 – died December 23, 1638) was a talented Italian painter. People really admired her during her lifetime, especially for her portraits. Sadly, many of these portraits are now lost or we don't know for sure if she painted them. Her paintings, like the many she did of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, made her a well-known artist.
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Barbara Longhi's Life and Art
Barbara Longhi was born on September 21, 1552, in Ravenna, a city in northern Italy. She lived there her whole life. Her father, Luca Longhi, was a famous painter. Her older brother, Francesco, was also an artist. Both Barbara and Francesco learned how to paint from their father. They worked in his art studio, and Barbara even helped with big projects like paintings for church altars.
Barbara also posed for her father's paintings. This helped her learn how to show and sell her own artwork to people who wanted to buy it. She finished her training by 1570, but she stayed close to her family and her father's workshop. We don't know much about her personal life, like if she ever got married.
What Kind of Art Did Barbara Longhi Make?
Barbara Longhi was very good at painting portraits, which are pictures of people. However, only one of her known portraits, called Camaldolese Monk, still exists today. This is also the only painting we know of that shows an adult man. It's also one of the few paintings she made that has a date on it, though it's a bit hard to read.
Barbara's father painted her as Saint Barbara in one of his paintings from 1570. She probably also posed for his painting called Nuptials of Cana. Barbara's own painting of Saint Catherine of Alexandria looks a lot like her father's pictures of her. Because of this, many people believe it's a self-portrait, meaning she painted herself.
When Barbara painted herself as the noble and smart Saint Catherine of Alexandria, she showed herself as a good, elegant, and educated woman. Some people think she painted herself as a saint to avoid looking like she was being vain (too proud of herself). This painting was first made for a monastery. Later, in 1829, it was bought by a museum in Ravenna and was cleaned up in 1980. She painted Saint Catherine of Alexandria several other times too.
Most of Barbara Longhi's paintings don't have her signature. But on one, she wrote "B.L.F.", which means "Barbara Longhi fecit" (made by Barbara Longhi). On another, she wrote "B.L.P.", meaning "Barbara Longhi pinxit" (painted by Barbara Longhi). Since most of her work isn't signed, we don't know exactly how many paintings she created or how many still exist. Only about fifteen paintings are definitely known to be hers.
About twelve of these known paintings show the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. These types of paintings were very popular during a time called the Counter-Reformation. This was a period when the Catholic Church wanted art to be simpler and more focused on religious feelings. Some of Barbara's paintings might even be mistakenly thought to be her father's work.
Other Important Paintings by Barbara Longhi
One of Barbara Longhi's paintings that doesn't show the Madonna is Judith with the Head of Holofernes (painted around 1570–75). This story, about Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes, was also painted by other female artists. Barbara's version is different because it doesn't show the violent part. Instead, her Judith looks up to heaven as if asking for forgiveness. This fits with the ideas of the Counter-Reformation, which encouraged people to admit their guilt and believe in forgiveness.
Barbara's paintings often have simple designs and soft colors. This also shows the influence of the Counter-Reformation. Her paintings were usually small, unlike the large altar paintings her father made. This was because her smaller works were meant to help people think about their religious beliefs. She wanted her art to make viewers feel a connection with the people in her paintings. She preferred to paint calm scenes of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus instead of huge Bible scenes.
Other famous artists like Raphael, Antonio da Correggio, and Parmigianino influenced her art. The success of another famous Italian female painter, Sofonisba Anguissola, might have also inspired Barbara. Even though she was influenced by these great artists, Barbara developed her own unique style. For example, she painted the arms and necks of her Madonnas in a delicate way and used warm, soft golden colors. Her art combines traditional ways of composing a picture with strong feelings and new ways of using color.
Barbara Longhi died in Ravenna on December 23, 1638, when she was 86 years old.
How People Saw Her Art
Barbara Longhi is one of the few female artists mentioned in a famous book by Italian art historian Giorgio Vasari. In his book, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, published in 1568, Vasari wrote that Longhi "draws very well, and she has begun to colour some things with good grace and manner." However, some art historians say that these mentions of women artists like Longhi didn't really offer serious thoughts on their achievements.
Germaine Greer, another art historian, said that Barbara's work was "considerable" (meaning a lot). She described them as "all small pictures, remarkable for their purity of line and soft brilliance of colour." Greer also felt that "Barbara Longhi brings to her extremely conservative picture-making a simplicity and intensity of feeling quite beyond her mannerist father and her dilettante brother." This means she thought Barbara's art had a special feeling that her father and brother didn't quite capture.
In 1575, a man named Muzio Manfredi praised Barbara's talent in a lecture. He said:
You should know that in Ravenna lives today a girl of eighteen years of age, daughter of the Excellent painter Messer Luca Longhi. She is so wonderful in this art that her own father begins to be astonished by her, especially in her portraits as she barely glances at a person that she can portray better than anybody else with the sitter posing in front.
This shows how skilled she was, especially at painting portraits quickly and accurately.
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Even though she was famous in her hometown of Ravenna, Barbara Longhi was not very well known in other places during her lifetime. Her paintings help us understand how the Counter-Reformation influenced art in different regions.
Where You Can See Her Paintings
The Museo d'Arte della Città di Ravenna owns seven paintings by Barbara Longhi. They also have eleven paintings by her father, Luca, and three by her brother, Francesco.
Her artwork can also be found in other museums around the world, including:
- The Musée du Louvre in Paris, France
- The National Museum of Art of Romania in Bucharest, Romania
- The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy
- The Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna in Italy
- The Museo Biblioteca del Grappa in Italy
- The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- The Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indiana, USA
- The Santa Maria Maggiore church in Ravenna, Italy
See also
In Spanish: Bárbara Longhi para niños
