Giulia Lama

b. 1681 — d. 1747

Venetian painter Giulia Lama, the first woman known to draw and study the male nude from a live model, was similar to Paladini in terms of her skills as a painter and poet, but unlike the young Pisan artist, Lama's physical appearance hindered, rather than propelled, her professional success. Nonetheless, Lama's poems are often compared to those by humanist poet Francesco Petrarch, and she possessed ample knowledge of mathematics and a passion for philosophical studies. Although very little documentation survives about her life and works, scholars have uncovered a treasure trove: 200 of her drawings featuring both male and female nudes. She is said to have been trained by her father, Agostino Lama, before studying alongside Giambattista Piazzetta (1682-1754), a rococo painter and her childhood friend. While Lama's paintings are similar to Piazzetta's in their sharp contrasts of light and shade, her technique is said to surpass his.