Conference by Enrico Maria Dal Pozzolo on the painter Lavinia Fontana

The conference will present in preview the volume by Enrico Maria Dal Pozzolo, edited in collaboration with Cristina Farnetti, on the Erotic Paintings of Lavinia Fontana (Erotic Paintings. Paul Holberton publisher, London 2026).

It analyzes the production in this sector of a now famous Bolognese painter active from the early 1570s until her death in 1614, which occurred in Rome.

She was a versatile, tireless artist, specialized in portraits and devotional works, but also in profane paintings that she interpreted with exceptional freedom of approach.

After some biographical notes and some information about the contexts she frequented, the research focuses in particular on Three Nude Ladies painted on slate (regarding whose identity a surprising hypothesis can be put forward) and on a Venus and Mars in Palazzo Liria in Madrid, in which the latter dares to 'caress' the backside of the goddess.

This detail opens the research to the theme – up to now neglected – of the figurative renaissance of the classical Venus Callipyge (meaning 'of the beautiful buttocks'), investigating its literary and archaeological premises.

Enrico Maria Dal Pozzolo is an associate professor of Modern Art History at the University of Verona, where he teaches Modern Art History.

He mainly deals with Venetian painting of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

He has published numerous scientific contributions and has organized various conferences – including one on Marco Boschini in Verona in 2014, on behalf of the Veneto Region – and exhibitions, in Venice (Doge's Palace, Correr Museum), Rome (Palazzo Venezia, Castel Sant'Angelo), London (National Gallery), and Madrid (Prado Museum).

In 2009, he curated the exhibition on Giorgione in Castelfranco Veneto.

He writes for Repubblica and has collaborated with Rai and the BBC.

From 2025 to 2027, he is a consultant to the Chamber of Deputies for the historical-artistic heritage of Montecitorio.