Unseen Lavinia Fontana Altarpiece Acquired by Stockholm's Nationalmuseum

Key facts

• Lavinia Fontana's previously unknown altarpiece depicting the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, dated 1607, has been acquired by the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.
• The painting was part of a private Italian collection from the late 19th century and was unknown to the art world until the acquisition.
• The altarpiece measures 158 x 119 cm and is now on display in the museum's galleries as of September 1st.
• The acquisition was made possible by a donation from the Sophia Giesecke Fund.
• The acquisition is part of the Nationalmuseum's strategy to enrich its collection with works by female artists, alongside Sofonisba Anguissola and Artemisia Gentileschi.
• Fontana was a pioneering female artist, considered the first woman to run her own professional studio, and supported her husband and 11 children.
• Fontana received her first papal commission around 1590 and moved to Rome in 1603, becoming one of the first women admitted to the Accademia di San Luca.
• Her last known work, Minerva in atto di abbigliarsi (1613), was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese and is in the Galleria Borghese, Rome.