Take, for example, Italian Renaissance painter Sofonisba Anguissola. During her day she was praised by Michelangelo, hired as court painter to Spanish king Phillip II, and admired by Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck. Anguissola made it, supporting herself entirely with her art. But today, awareness of her work is limited to an esoteric bunch of Renaissance enthusiasts; she definitely isn’t a household name.
