During the Italian Renaissance it was rare for women to have access to artistic education, but by 1558 Sofonisba Anguissola had already been apprenticed to two painters of the Lombard school, and traveled to Rome to meet and learn from Michelangelo. At the time of this self-portrait, she was 26 years old. She soon met the Duke of Alba, who recommended her to King Philip II of Spain, and her career exploded.
