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STR ATEGIC SISTERS
“they appear alive,” wrote Renaissance art critic notion of the time that men were more rational
Giorgio Vasari of “A Portrait of the Artist’s Sisters minded than women, and thus better chess play-
Playing Chess.” Painted in 1555 when Sofonisba ers. She signed the painting “Sofonisba . . . virgo
was about 23, it depicts Lucia (left) looking di- (virgin)” to emphasize her virginity not only as a
rectly at the viewer as she captures a chess piece virtue but also as a means to remain unwed and
from her sister, Minerva (right); younger sister free (Sofonisba would not marry until much later
Europa (center) reacts with glee. Chaperoned by in life, at age 40). The all-female scene has been
an older woman who looks on at their game, So- contrasted with fellow Cremona painter Giulio
fonisba’s sisters are richly but modestly attired. Campi’s “The Chess Game” (1530), which depicts
The artist subtly links the girls’ chastity with the a male and a female player in an eroticized con-
ability to think strategically and retain control over test. Cremona was caught up in the chess craze
their lives. Some critics have interpreted Lucia’s that had swept Spain the century before, and local
triumph in this work as Sofonisba challenging the artists depicted the game as a sign of the times.
