Diana Scultori
| Diana Scultori | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1547 Mantua |
| Died | 1612 Rome |
| Nationality | Italy |
Diana Scultori, Diana Montovano, or Diana Ghisi (b.1535 AD) was an Italian engraver from Mantua, Italy. She is one of the earliest known women printmakers.
She was one of four children of the sculptor and engraver Giovanni Battista Ghisi. Diana learned the art of engraving from her father and the artist Giulio Romano. She received her first public recognition as an engraver in Giorgio Vasari’s second edition of his Vites (1568). In 1565 she met her first husband, architect (Capriani). The pair moved to Rome by 1575. Once in Rome, Diana used her knowledge of business within the art world to progress her husband’s career. Soon after moving to Rome, on June 5, 1575, Diana received a Papal Privilege to make and market her own work. She used the importance of signature and dedication to her advantage. Three years later (1578) she gave birth to her son Giovanni Battista Capriani. Both Diana symbolically and Francesco actively became members of the Confraternity of San Giuseppe during their artistic careers. The last known print by Diana dates 1588. It is unlikely that she created new prints past this time due to the strong emphasis she put on signing and dating her work throughout her career. She married another architect named Giulio Pelosi after Francesco da Volterra's death in 1594. Diana died several years later in 1612.
The cultural changes associated with the Renaissance were providing women greater opportunities to study art, and it became possible for female artists to gain international reputations.The work of Diana Scultori, born in 1547, is a reflection of this changing climate. One of three daughters of the Scultori family, as a woman she was unable to have a formal apprenticeship, but her father taught her his trade. Despite her lack of education in drawing specifically, she was able to use drawings from other artists to learn how to produce engravings. It was not unusual for the daughters of artisans to be trained in the family craft, but it was considered uncommon for a daughter to be trained in engraving and to make it a public career as she did. She received her first public recognition as an engraver in Giorgio Vasari’s second edition of Vites (1568).
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