Josefa de Ayala, aka Josefa de Óbidos, was a novelty. She was celebrated after her death; the only woman known to have worked as a painter in Portugal, during that period.
The Christ Child as Pilgrim – 1676– Oil on Canvas
Josepha learned to paint by helping her father, Baltazar Gomes Figueira. In her lifetime, Portugal was monetarily unstable and often at war. However, much of her artwork was for patrons in Coimbra, a wealthy area boasting a university.
At 29 years old, her parents gave written permission for her to be to be a Donzela emancipada. (emancipated woman). She remained unmarried and independent for her entire life.
She received many commissions, during her lifetime. However, Josepha was wealthy from real estate investments and was able to refuse work at the Portuguese court.
She signed many of her artworks, as Salvator Mundi. Thinking this was a male painter attracted clients, and prevented her from being forgotten over time.
Lavinia Fontana
Italian: 1552 -1614
Born in Bologna, died in Rome; Lavinia Fontana painted in the Mannerist style she was taught by her father, Prospero Fontana.
Holy Family with Saints Margaret and Francis – 1578
An important portraitist in the late 16th century, she also produced many religious paintings. Lavinia was celebrated for the vibrant colour and detail of the clothes and jewels her subjects wore. She also became one of the first women to render publicly funded, large scale figure paintings.
In 1577 Fontana married Gian Paolo Zappi. An inferior painter, he pivoted to becoming her business agent.
Some of her paintings are signed with her married name.
Lavinia was the mother of 11 children.
Enjoying the patronage of the family of Pope Gregory XIII, Lavinia painted portraits of much of the elite.
In 1604 she painted the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, for San Paolo Fuori le Mura in Rome. An altarpiece and her largest work, it was destroyed when the basilica burned down, in the fire of 1823.
This is an oil on canvas painting, and there were at least 2 others by Lavinia Fontana in the Making Her Mark exhibit. I’ll show those at another time, with a few more tidbits of her extraordinary life.
In the meantime, should you be interested to learn more about her, you can check out the links at the end of this post, search her online or in libraries.
Barbara Longhi
Italian: 1552 – 1638
Known primarily for her religious paintings, Barbara Longhi’s work can be difficult to differentiate from her father’s work. Her father, Luca Longhi, was a renown painter and miniaturist. Barbara began her art journey, by assisting him with altar pieces.
Virgin Mary & Infant Jesus – ca – 1575-80
She expanded beyond her father’s teachings by studying the works of Parmigianino and Correggio. Barbara painted primarily religious images, including several depictions of Madonna and Child with Renaissance style and features. I’m intrigued that parted drapes exposing landscapes was one of the elements.
Giorgio Vasari commended her for having “purity of line and soft brilliance of colour”.
Her ability to capture human interaction kept her one of the few successful career women of her day.
The Art Gallery of Ontario has obtained this 42.5 × 34 cm. oil on canvas painting for its permanent collection.
” Longhi’s painting, alongside two other gifted paintings by women artists (Mary Ann Alabaster (1805–1879) and Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899)), extends the AGO’s holdings of European Art by female artists three centuries deeper into the past.” – AGO
"but I have moved on to drawing and painting, which now dominate my artistic life."
"This book is a celebration of my cake and fondant art phase of life"
And what a fantastic phase it was! Just check out her “Jack Frost” cake above! I was so inspired, I drew the “Jacquie Frost” Art Gown below.
I’m just learning how to do white, so did a rendition of icy-blue white with window frost effect.
Of course there’s more to the book than cakes! There’s recipes and background history of both how fancy desserts and their recipes came to be, with a focus on:
Christmas Cakes
Okay, so that’s another kind of cake, but it is Christmas soon, and I just had to show off Robbie’s Tiered Rainbow Fairies Christmas Cake!
Which leads me to another Art Gown drawing inspired by the above cake; The Rainbow Fairies’ Art Gown.
Robbie says – “The ice cream fairies cake is a very happy one for me.”
If there is anything that could be constructed out of gingerbread, Robbie has engineered it.
To the left is her gingerbread Chapel.
To our right, is her gingerbread Windmill.
There are a lot of gingerbread creations in the book, but these two are the inspiration for my Gingerbread Art Gown, below.
Ginger models the Gingerbread Art Gown.
This lovely 100+ page book can set you up nicely for the oncoming holiday season, or any celebration that comes your way.
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated four poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies. .
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
OR – Just click on Something Fancy above, and go directly to its Amazon page!
Something Fancy is available in book or ebook formats!
You can find her books on Amazon sites around the globe. Just search “Robbie Cheadle” for children and youth books – “Roberta Eaton Cheadle” for adult books.
Thank you Lauren for thinking of me and taking these fab shots of beauty for me!
It’s a wonderful feeling to be thought of!
This gorgeous wall painting was taken by Lauren at Baydreamer Writes in late October, when out at a Mexican restaurant. I love it!
I also love Cora’s Quest (her first children’s book) and King Copper, Ever So Gently and More Than Coffee(fine poetry collections). Head to her site for the links to grab one of these gift-able books!
I’ve done reviews of all of her books. Just put the title into the “Search” engine not too far down the sidebar, and go to it.
MONA OF KENSINGTON
“This iconic Kensington Market mural is finally complete — 43 years after it was painted on a dare.”
She’s miserably hard to shoot up high and through wires, but she’s always been there. With her wonky eyes, she was there on my first shopping trip to Kensington.
When I started collecting street art, I did take pics of her. However, she was crumbling & in b&w. This summer the original artist returned and finished her. Here’s an article about it!
Faces in Waiting
The first stunning multi-colour face was on a Magic Mushrooms shop.
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This second face is on a shipping container used as a shop. A row of these container businesses line the Dundas West Skateboard Park “DUNBAT”
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The third face was on a restaurant in Yorkville in 2020. It’s gone now.
THE VIOLINIST
I’d love to learn to paint white on black!
WOW! Watch Lindsey dress during the performance. Stunning!
She painted Queens and Kings. She was the official portrait artist to Marie Antionette. Much has been recorded by and of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1775 -1842).
Yet, who are some of the extended royalty whose VigéeLe Brun’s images linger on earth for posterity? I was privy to viewing 3 of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s portraits at the Making Her Mark exhibit. All 3 are of royalty.
The Marquise de Pezay, and the Marquise de Rougé with Her Sons Alexis and Adrien
This massive painting (4.5 ‘ x 5.1’) painted in 1787, was one of my faves at the exhibit. It was almost like being with living people.
1787 – Oil on canvas
The Marquise de Pezay
There is not much written about The Marquise de Pezay nee: Caroline de Murat, and I cannot find the date of her birth. From an old Auvergne family, she was very beautiful and quite penniless.
In 1776 she married Alexandre-Frédéric-Jacques Masson , Marquis de Pezay. The Marquis de Pezay was a French Military officer of distinction, a writer and encyclopedist. In 1777, at only 36 years of age he died at Pezay Castle.
Vigée Le Brun and the Marquise de Pezay both fled Paris in 1789 shortly after the storming of the Bastille.
The Marquise de Pezay found refuge in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she died in 1794.
There is also a record of her in Heidelberg in 1791.
In researching Caroline de Murat, you will also find Caroline Murat is the name of Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest sister.
Marquise de Rougé
Nee: Natalie Victurnienne de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1759 -1828). Her father was Jean Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart. Her mother was Charlotte Nathalie De Manneville.
She wed in 1777 to Bonabes-Jean-Catherine-Alexis de Rougé, the 3rd Marquis de Rougé. Five years later, returning from the West Indies on a battleship, he died.
In 1789 she and her sons left France for Switzerland, but returned to France in 1790. At that time, they lived in seclusion at the Château de Moreuil with her husband’s aunt, the Duchess d’Elbeuf. In 1791, she emigrated to Heidelberg, Germany, along with her children, her mother, andthe Marquise de Pezay.
From the Journal of the Emigration -by: Count d’Espinchal (1748 – 1823) while living in Heidelberg, Germany. Published from the original manuscripts in 1812.
“I have found living here since the winter, the Duchess de Mortemart, mother of the Duke and of the Marquis de Mortemart, both of whom are deputies to the Estates-General … and both members of the majority of the conservative nobility. The Marquise de Rougé, their sister, a pretty and amiable widow, is here with her children (she looks more like their sister) … and Mme de Pezay … who is her intimate friend.”
She returned to Paris in 1798. Her lands had been expropriated and sold. So, she took room and board in a home run by former nuns. Her sons joined her in France in 1800. She died on 25 December 1828
Alexis and Adrien
Alexis Bonabes Louis Victurnien, Marquis de Rougé, ( 1778 – 1839) was a French military officer and Statesman.
In April 1804, he married Alexandrine Célestine Zoé Emmanuelle Thimarette de Crussol d’Uzes (1785–1866). They had 6 children.
Adrien Gabriel Victurnien de Rougé (1782 – 1838) was a statesman and distinguished soldier.
In 1809 he married Caroline de Forbin d’Oppède. They had 4 children.
The Comtesse de Cérès
Seems some scallywag royalty wormed its way into Vigée Le Brun’s life.
1794 – Oil on canvas
It appears as though Anne Marie Thérèse de Rabaudy Montoussin (1759 – 1834) married “The Roué himself”, Jean de Barry-Cérès when she was 18.
Jean de Barry-Cérès, from suspect lower nobility, may have added the “de” to his name. That was easy to do back then, and claim you were A somebody. It appears he earned a scrounged living by both legal and so/so illegal means (gambling parlours and pimping) .
Not only does there appear to be only a Jean Barry (no Cérès), but it is somewhat unclear if he did wed Anne Marie Thérèse de Rabaudy Montoussin, who would have been his second wife. Barry’s first wife was Ursule Dalmas de Vernongrese.
Anne Marie Thérèse de Rabaudy Montoussin apparently married “de Barry” when she was eighteen. This portrait was done in 1784. She would have been 25.
De Barry, the Roué, was persona extremely non-grata at the French Court. Yet, Vigée Le Brun befriended the Comtesse de Cérès.
The friendship did not last.
Vigée Le Brun was furious that gossip was accusing her of having an affair with the French Finance Minister, Charles Alexandre de Calonne; gossip fuelled by the actions of Madame de Cérès .
From the memoirs of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
“While I was painting her portrait, she did me an atrocious disservice. In her ingratiating way she asked me to lend her my horses and carriage to take her to the theater. The next morning I requested my horses for eleven o’clock. Coachman, horses, nothing had come back. I learned that Madame de Cérès had spent the night at the Finance Ministry.”
All assumed the affair was with Vigée Le Brun, as it was her coach that spent the night outside the Finance Ministry.
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
I’d like to take a moment here to say how awed I was standing in front of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s paintings. They took my breath away. Rebecca Budd, curator of Chasing Art has, written an outstanding 7 part series onÉlisabeth Vigée Le Brun.
Below is the link to the first article. Just click on “NEXT POST” and work your way through this enchanting recounting of a remarkable woman in history, or I might say – Herstory!
Princess Anna Alexandrovna Galitzin (August 1763 — October 1842) was a Russian aristocrat of Georgian royal origin.
1797 – Oil on canvas
Anna was the daughter of the Tsarevich of Georgia. Growing up in Moscow, she knew a good deal of local power. This power was afforded her, because she was a member of the house of Bagration-Gruzinsky.
In 1785 she married the illegitimate son of Prince Aleksander Mikhailovich Golitsyn, Alexander Alexandrovich Litsyn. One year after his passing, in 1789, she married her third cousin once removed, Prince Boris Andreevicholitsyn. Together they had 8 children. Her husband died of a stroke in 1822.
Tsar Paul Icame to the Russian throne in 1796. In 1798 he promoted Prince Boris to lieutenant general. In 1800, Boris did something to anger a higher ranking officer. The result was that he, Anna and her family were “compelled to retire” to their estate, in the province of Vladimir.
In 1801 Alexander I came to power, and high society of St. Petersburg accepted the family back.
Back in St. Petersburg, Princess Anna hosted a most influential salon.
Vigée Le Brun was charging high prices when Princess Anna commissioned it in 1797. However, money was not an issue. Princess Anna possessed of one of the largest fortunes in the empire.
Also on display was the working drawing, in black and white chalk with stumping on paper.
It seems the gown Princess Anna is wearing was a house dress, nothing fancy. Also, for reasons of modesty, the sheer arm sleeves were apparently added after completion of the portrait.
Thank you for reading another post of “Making Her Mark”
To read all posts just click on the Making Her Mark banner at the top of the side bar!
Please click on the banner below to go to the research links page.
“Any moron can destroy, let’s create!” – Trent P. McDonald
That is a quote from our email exchange on September 18, 2025. We were working on a collaboration: his new song, some street art and a chat.
From Trent’s description on Youtube – The rainbow can mean whatever you want, but it is not about “Gay Pride” or anything, unless that fits you personally. I just think of rainbows as being the opposite of boxes.
We couldn’t quite settle on any of the samples I sent. Then I found a quadriptych in an alley in Cabbagetown. The colours were perfect for the rainbow he was using in his video.
Trent – I really love the dancers! I followed the link you sent and also the link that they have, to more info about the mural. It is all great.
Resa – It sounds like we should go with the Dancers. I’ve been thinking about it, too, and it does fit with your song and vice versa.
Trent – There is the freedom of the styles – from the kid’s drawings of buildings to the Matisse inspired abstract dancers, The color palette is great. It is very dynamic; the sense of movement is fantastic – not being boxed in at all! Free expression.
Trent – I am not sure if you want to get into the music nerd side of it, but some questions can centre around the time being in 7-4, 6-4 and 5-4 while most pop/rock music is 4-4 with a very occasional 3-4 (waltz-like).
Moving Elevation is the official title
Resa – The quadriptych was painted indoors on canvas. They were coated and moved outdoors onto an alley wall of a dance school.
Trent – There is a lot to be said about street art vs “traditional” art. It is interesting to have “indoor street art”.
Resa – I was thinking that, too!
Children worked with the artists and created the backgrounds.
Citadel & Companie is the dance company that commissioned this quadriptych.
Part of their program offers dance lessons to children.
“It is lit from the blue sky above, even if the sky is covered in clouds.”
The above words are Trent’s, from one of our mails. We were talking about why a pic he took, of a drawing of a trumpet he had done, tuned blue.
That sentence applies to much more than just a photograph. I see it as a philosophic metaphor. Music, in Trent’s life, was always a light from above.
Trent – “For the most part I try to be a very positive person – i.e., my Weekly Smile. Although I have written some “protest” songs lately and will continue to do so, I want to do it from a positive angle.”
Ghosts
The last panel of the quadriptych seemed somewhat apart from the other 3, because of the figures. My initial thoughts were of dancing ghosts.They now haunt.
Fiyero, one of his dogs had just died.
Trent – And thanks, Resa. Even though I drove down to the Cape yesterday so should be in a “happy place,” I’ll admit I am a little depressed today.
Resa – Take it easy out there, and be careful. We are not at our sharpest when grieving, or even just blue.
Trent – Some could be an after effect of losing Fiyero – Some could be just going from being on 100% of the time to being off. I have had some stomach issues that have nothing to do with stress that isn’t helping. The news and what is happening in my country is catching up to me as I sit here.
I suggested posting on the 16th of October, or just after. That would give us time to finish the Q&A!
Trent – Oh, the date sounds good. I will be off line from the afternoon of October 9 until maybe the morning of October 13. The 16th is perfect.
Resa -Write me tomorrow, or anytime! It doesn’t have to be about the post. Anything you want to say is okay by me.
Music Maker
Trent and I found our palship because of music. Oddly, inasmuch as we both love music and had a special spot for John Lennon, it was equipment, the hardware that instigated out first chats.
As my hubs is a musician/composer/producer, I’ve watched music equipment come and go: evolve from analog to digital, from the McLeyvier (ahead of its time & developed by a friend of ours) to the Synclavier (of which Trent had one).
Trent – Hi Resa, So, I decided to go ahead and do the cover of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” I just sketched it all out in a notation program (writing the notes, etc.) and have started to play around with it on the guitar. I changed keys again from what I do with my instructor to make the guitar part easier. I bumped it a little higher, but still not what CCR did – John Fogerty had a very high voice!
Anyway, thought you’d be interested to know that I am doing this. Most likely I will record over the weekend and put it out early next week.
This is what would have been our 5th post together. If you’d like to see the other 4, just click on the banner below. Trent did the drawing of John Lennon.
Pics taken by Resa – September 18, 2025
Toronto, Canada
The Artists:
& the children
Click on the children dancing on the left to go to Eden Remme Watt’s website
Click on the guy dancing by the CN Tower, (on the left), to read about Rebecca Remme.
What a beautiful and hectic city Toronto is. You feel it in the slideshow!
And they picked the best bird to name their Baseball team after.
Hey, look! It’s a José Bautista mural!
José Bautista
2008 – 2017
Famous for “The Bat Flip” Bautista was a 6 time all-star, with 288 homers across 10 seasons with Toronto. Click on the pic below to read what the CBC has to say!
He rejoined the Blue Jays on August 11, 2023 for 1 day and retired a Blue Jay.
Commissioned by The Toronto Blue Jays, Bautista attended the unveiling of this massive mural with his family.
You can see its gargantuaness in the pic to the left, by comparing to the teeny people in the lower right corner.
He even signed it, in gold paint!
This was not an easy mural to capture. Still, after I found a way over the fence and into the construction site, I shot lots, and got some good ones. A few more are in the slideshow.
This close up of a coach makes me laugh. Can you see why?
Bautista, one of the Blue Jay’s Gems!
“We must be painted on a time travel garage door.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I see Cito Gaston!”
Cito Gaston
Gaston was the Blue Jays coach when Joe Carter hit the winning home run in the 1993 World Series. The Blue Jays won the title for 2 years in a row. (1992 & 1993) I always say they kept it for a 3rd year in 1994. That was the year of the big baseball strike, and there was noWorld Series.
My wings are waving the Jays on to victory, and my tail shows I’m a fan!
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