[■] The Renaissance, which began in the 1300s in northern Italy, marked the rebirth of classical learning and knowledge. New ideas were also introduced during this period in the arts and sciences. [■] Dates varied depending upon the end of the Middle Ages in geographic regions. [■] Italy is thought to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance and Florence, a city in north central Italy, is considered to have been the city where the Renaissance began. [■]
? The year 1500 divided the Early Renaissance from the Late Renaissance. Sofonisba Anguissola is considered to be a Late Renaissance child because she had been born in 1532. Sofonisba"s father was a wealthy nobleman and she was the oldest of seven children in the family. The town in which she grew up, Cremona, was a northern Italian town located in Lombardy not too far from Florence. Her town had been founded in 218 B.C. by the Romans, and has become well known for its square and tower dating from the Middle Ages. Throughout the years artists and musicians had gravitated to Cremona and it developed as an important violin manufacturing center. During the Renaissance young men received formal schooling . They could serve apprenticeships for several years to further learn their professions. Young women, however, were not provided the same educational opportunities. Young Italian women were expected to learn homemaking skills, marry by the time they were thirty, and become mothers at early ages. Sofonisba Anguissola was a young Italian woman who did not follow the course society expected.
Sofonisba"s family was a family of artists but she was the first female to show interest in painting. She was extremely fortunate that her father recognized her artistic talents and the artistic talents of her sisters. Her father arranged for Sofonisba to be taught painting along with feminine skills of needlework and homemaking. At the age of fourteen she began classes with Bernardino Campi, a Cremona portrait painter who had begun painting at an early age and had combined the styles of Raphael and Titian into a style of his own. As a paid guest in Campi"s home for approximately one year, Sofonisba painted and sketched daily. She learned to copy the great works of art in the local churches to learn her profession as all aspiring painters did. During the time she studied with Campi she also learned about oils, pigments, and canvas preparation. When Campi moved to Milan, Sonfonisba continued her studies for nearly three years with Barnardino Gatti who was a painter of religious pictures for local Lombardy churches. When Sofonisba was twenty-two her father arranged for her to study in Rome, and through his contacts was introduced to Michaelangelo. She met with Michaelangelo informally so he could critique her work and provide her with some of his sketches for copying.
? While Sofonisba was studying in Rome, Spain"s King Philip Ⅱ invited her to move to Madrid and become the Queen"s art instructor. Sofonisba moved to Spain and lived there fourteen years, giving the Queen lessons in painting and drawing, acting as governess for the royal family"s two children, and completing portraits of the King, Queen, and their children. At the age of thirty-eight, Sofonisba married a Sicilian nobleman, a marriage arranged by the King. After the death of her husband, Sofonisba returned to Italy to continue her painting. On the voyage home she met her second husband, an Italian ship"s captain from Genoa. Sofonisba continued to paint after her marriage. She died at the age of ninety-three on the island of Sicily.
? Sofonisba"s family background and the education that had been made available to her influenced the type of paintings she became known for. She is considered a Mannerist painter because that style of painting was developed during the 1500s and Mannerist paintings display complex compositions and emotions. Often painted in informal domestic settings, Sofonisba"s portraits were realistic and portrayed expression, natural emotion, and interpersonal relationships. Throughout her life, Sofonisba assumed a dual role a painter and one who was painted. Several of her portraits were self portraits, painted at various stages in her life by using a mirror to capture her moods and to perfect different methods of painting. Sofonisba gave many of her paintings as gifts because her social status would have made it inappropriate for her to sell her works of art. Unfortunately, most of her works have been destroyed or lost over the years but several still survive in Western Europe. Sofonisba Anguissola was fortunate to have been born into nobility during the Renaissance and to have had the advantage of her family"s wealth to learn, practice, and develop the art of portrait painting.

profession: a type of job that requires advanced education
pigment: a substance that gives something a particular color

单选题 The phrase this period in paragraph 1 refers to

单选题 The word classical in the passage is closest in meaning to

单选题 Which of the sentences below best paraphrases the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage. Incorrect choices change the meaning or leave out essential information.
During the Renaissance young men received formal schooling.

单选题 Why does the author mention, in paragraph 2, that Sofonisba"s father was a wealthy nobleman?

单选题 What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about Sofonisba?

单选题 Why does the author mention Sofonisba"s family was a family of artists?

单选题 The word fortunate in the passage is closest in meaning to

单选题 According to paragraph 4, why was King Philip Ⅱ of Spain important to Sofonisba?

单选题 According to paragraph 5, why did Sofonisba paint portraits?

单选题 According to Paragraph 5, why did Sofonisba give gifts of her paintings?

单选题 According to paragraph 5, which one of the following is true to Mannerist painters?

填空题 Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
This transitional period between the Middle Ages and modern times, known as the Renaissance, had no definite starting dates or places.
Where would the sentence best fit?
Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.

多选题 Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To remove an answer choice, click on it. To review the passage, click on View Text .
Sofonisba was a unique woman of the Renaissance.
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Answer Choices: