Late Italian Renaissance (14th-17th centuries) portrait painter Sofonisba Anguissola was born in 1532, to Amilcare Anguissola (member of Genoese minor nobility) and Bianca Ponzone (also from a noble background), at Cremona, Lombardy. She was the eldest of seven siblings, six of whom were girls. Amilcare always encouraged his children to cultivate and hone their talents, which resulted in four of them becoming painters. Of these Sofonisba was the most accomplished and famous one.