ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the expectations of the unmarried woman and examines the lives of three unmarried, practising women artists. The earliest, the Cremonese Sofonisba Anguissola, was a talented painter and a lady-in-waiting at the Spanish court of Queen Isabel de Valois, unable to practice as a professional until after she married and left the court. The unmarried Portuguese painter Josefa de Ayala declared herself to be “emancipated” and practiced as an independent artist. Nothing is known about the life of the third painter, María Josefa Sánchez, but she evidently established a market for a consistent, customisable product, using an astute approach to her art practice.
