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Whatever else you might say about the paintings of Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), they are not easy to ignore. There are several large-scale paintings of hers in the NGI\u2019s exhibition which instantly draw the eye: the Gozzadini Family portrait, which takes on an extra frisson once you read the accompanying label and know it for a record of familial rancour and betrayal; the arresting Child in a Cradle, perhaps a posthumous memorialisation of a beloved child dead in infancy; the Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, with the biblical figures attended by a gorgeously attired group of courtiers. (This last is part of NGI’s permanent collection and has recently undergone major conservation.<\/a>)<\/p>\n In these works and others, Fontana clearly relishes showing her subjects\u2019 status and relationships. These were people who dressed for success, and Fontana excelled in reproducing the intricacies of lace and capturing the sheen and texture of luxury fabrics, the kinds of textiles whose production and use was still so closely associated with with women during this period. True, her portraits are sometimes stiff and flat and there are occasions when her grasp of anatomy is wobbly\u2014but despite this they are often marvellously arresting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n