Properzia, le combat d'une sculptrice images
Book in French — English title: Properzia: The Struggle of a Woman Sculptor
Who today has heard of Properzia De' Rossi, the first woman sculptor of the Italian Renaissance? What remains of her is a shaft of light, cast across time by Giorgio Vasari, who devoted a biography to her in his Vite of 1550. Her exceptional gifts as a sculptor aroused admiration and astonishment among her fellow citizens. She dared to lead a free life. A married woman in love with a man who spurned her, she expressed her romantic misfortunes in her celebrated bas-relief, Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife.
This book sets out to do justice to Properzia De' Rossi, whose scandalous life has overshadowed her work and distorted the perception of her talent. Over the centuries, her tormented and mysterious life aroused tremendous literary enthusiasm, transforming her into a muse of Romanticism. Little by little, she lost her identity as a sculptor.
This book stands at the crossroads of literature and art history. It rediscovers Properzia De' Rossi and restores to her the place that has for too long gone unrecognised.
Élisabeth Baligand Auffret
She holds a doctorate in Italian Studies and is the author of the thesis “Properzia De' Rossi sculptrice (1490-1530), O stupor novo, e strano”.
A mother of three, she took up the study of Italian after her professional career, her mother’s family being from Mantua. Her research focuses on women’s art in Renaissance Italy. Introduced to sculpture by her brother-in-law, the sculptor Charles Auffret (1929-2001), she developed a passion for the talented woman sculptor of Bologna.
@book{Auffret2022,
title = {{Properzia, le combat d'une sculptrice}},
author = {Baligand Auffret, {\'E}lisabeth},
year = {2022},
series = {Ut Pictura Poesis},
publisher = {Spartacus-Idh},
ISBN = {978-2-36693-096-2},
pages = {302},
url = {https://spartacus-idh.com/liseuse/096/}
}
