Donatella (fl. 1271)

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Donatella (fl. 1271)

Italian painter. Name variations: Donella. Flourished around 1271 in Bologna.

The painter Donatella of Bologna belongs to a large class of professional urban women of the 13th century. She is listed as a miniatrix, or female miniaturist, in a contract she and her husband (also a miniaturist) negotiated for the sale of their house in 1271. Donatella was not unusual or alone in her choice of occupation; many city women worked in the skilled field of manuscript illustration in the Middle Ages, as they also worked in other areas of book production. Unfortunately no other information is available about her life.

Laura York , Riverside, California