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Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer Rule Breaker

Exhibition Identity

 

Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer, Rule Breaker broke ground at National Gallery of Ireland as their first headline show dedicated to a female artist. The exhibition explored the extraordinary life and works of the 16th century Bolognese painter. Widely considered to be the first woman to work as a professional artist, which in itself defied gender conventions of the time, Fontana was also the first woman to paint public altarpieces, and female nudes.

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Whilst acknowledging Fontana’s legacy and exploring themes of female representation, wealth and status, the show also foregrounded the strength and beauty of her work. Her home city of Bologna became a focus of our creative research, inspiring the rich colour scheme and offering insight into the cultural climate that enabled her to flourish as a female artist of the period, alongside the men and women she influenced and was enabled by.

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Lavinia paved the way for professional female artists, creating a future for women in art. Featuring typography evocative of 16th century book titles, paired with a 20th century modernist sans, the title graphic celebrates this role as a change maker, while also creating the link between past and present - or between Lavinia’s life and the life of women in today’s society.