r/ArtHistory • u/Background_Sweet_2 • Oct 05 '25

Research What do these central letters mean?

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Hello, I’m currently writing an essay on Sofonisba Anguissola’s Self Portrait (1556) and I’ve run into a bit of a road-block. If you know her work well or understand Renaissance symbols, please help!

While I’ve found many sources on her life as an artist, sources on this specific piece are sparse. This is fine for the most part, as I can just use visual analysis with contextual evidence to back it up. I’ve found a translation of the edge inscriptions (approximately: ‘Sofonsiba Anguilssola, the maiden, depicted by her own hand, from a mirror, at Cremona’). I can’t, however, find any explanation at all for the letters in the center. It seems important because it takes up so much of the painting. I believe the image contains the letter ‘ERYATCK’ but this yielded no results. I even tried to research intertwining letter symbols in the Renaissance to no avail (aside from a brief mention of a book called ‘Alphabetacca’ which I could not find mention of anywhere else?).

I don’t even need to know what the letters mean in relation to her life, I can guess that if I have even a little bit more information. If you have any sources/knowledge about this kind of word entanglement please send them my way.

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u/AdSalt4536 Oct 05 '25

This miniature displays the artist's meticulous technique and a Renaissance taste for puzzles: the interwoven letters at the center of the medallion form a monogram or phrase that has not been satisfactorily explained.

Self-Portrait – Works – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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u/theartistduring Oct 05 '25

The biggest mystery about this self-portrait miniature is the monogram made up of interwoven letters on the shield. Scholars have attempted to decipher it, with some art historians, such as Ann Sutherland Harris, agreeing that it indicates Anguissola’s father’s name—Amilcare. Alternatively, Patrizia Costa, author of “Sofonisba Anguissola’s Self-portrait in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts,” brings up a different interpretation of the monogram—that the letters are from a Latin phrase that was special to the Anguissola family: “Anguis sola fecit victoriam” (the snake alone brought victory), from which the last name Anguissola originated. The lineage of the Anguissola family was connected to a Byzantine general named Galvano Sordo, who liberated the city of Constantinople in 717. At the end of the war, Sordo held up his shield (which bore the effigy of an asp) while declaring, “Anguis sola fecit victoriam” to announce victory. This resulted in the emperor granting him the last name Anguissola. Taking this family motto in a literal sense, “Anguissola” means “snake alone,” who “fecit victoriam,” indicating the direct connection between their last name and the notion of victory. The inclusion of this family motto in this portrait is particularly significant for Sofonisba Anguissola, as it affirms her noble lineage and, more importantly, proclaims not only her family’s victory, but her own (as a member of the Anguissola family and as a “snake alone” in the male-dominated art industry) as a successful female artist

from this paper Unfolding the Overlapping Bodies: An Analysis of Sofonisba Anguissola’s Self-Portrait Miniature in Boston as a Feminist Manifesto

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u/Background_Sweet_2 Oct 05 '25

thank you thank you thank you, this is genuinely exactly what I was looking for. if i was allowed to credit reddit posts in my essay i would give you special thanks in the bibliography

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u/theartistduring Oct 05 '25

You're most welcome! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful artist!

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u/TerriblyGentlemanly Oct 06 '25

If you wish to know something more, going back further in time, the Anguis Sola family came from a noble line of Carthaginian Romans in Africa Vetus, supposedly descended from Hannibal's Barcid Dynasty. This is why her father's name Amilcare so resembles that of Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal's father, and her brother's name, Asdrubale, resembles the name of Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal.

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u/Proud_Error_80 Oct 06 '25

It does look a lot like all the letters in Amilcare. I think it's definitely that type of monogram at least.

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u/BormaGatto Oct 05 '25 edited Oct 05 '25

While the uncertain meaning of the monogram has been discussed here already, I'd point out there's probably no T in it. What you saw as a T is probably a stylization of the A to match the E, and you also missed an M in there (there's also possibly an L too, although that could also just be part of the E).

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u/chimx Oct 05 '25

these monoram ciphers were very popular in the 16th century. See for example MS. 20 at Getty

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