A vertically narrow rectangular painting of a woman in a long-sleeved black dress or robe with a black head covering that cascades down her back, kneeling barefoot before what appears to be a reliquary on a table or altar covered by a white cloth. She grasps the base of the reliquary with both hands as she gazes at it. The artist painted a sideview of the woman, so that only the left side of her face is visible.

Saint Clare of Assisi, 1611–1614, by #LaviniaFontana (Italian, 1552-1614), who died #otd, Aug 11. On view in the Main Chapel, Cappella Rivaldi, Santa Maria della Pace, Rome; source, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La... #FeastOfStClare #artherstory #womenartists

Heavenly coronation of #StClare through Christ (150r), 1490s?, by #SibyllaVonBondorf (#SibillaVonBondorf, #SibillaDeBondorff; German, c. 1450-1524). Baden State Library via Badische Landesbibliothek; source, staatsanzeiger.de/momente/extr... #artherstory #nuntastic #FeastofStClare #stclareofassisi

The painting shows St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi in adoration of the Infant Christ in the cave of nativity. The Child and the saints’ faces are well lit; the cave around them is quite dark.

St. Francis & #StClare of Assisi in Adoration of the Infant Christ, 1647, by #JosefaDeÓbidos (#JosefaDeAyala; Portuguese, ca. 1630–1684) after Gerard Seghers. Held by an art museum in Porto? Source, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jo... #FeastOfStClare #artherstory #womenartists