Barbara Longhi

Barbara Longhi (English: bar-BAR-ə LONG-ghee, Italian: [ˈbarbara ˈloŋɡi]; 21 September 1552 – 23 December 1638) was an Italian painter. She was much admired in her lifetime as a portraitist, although most of her portraits are now lost or unattributed. Her work, such as her many Madonna and Child paintings, earned her a fine reputation as an artist.

Barbara Longhi was born on 21 September 1552 in the northern Italian city of Ravenna, where she spent her entire life. Her father, Luca Longhi (1507–1580), was a well-known Mannerist painter, and her older brother Francesco (1544–1618) was also a painter. Both siblings received painting education from their father and were part of his studio, with Barbara assisting in such projects as work on large altarpieces. She also modelled and gained some familiarity with the process of marketing her artwork to patrons. Although her training was completed by 1570, her ties to her family and to her father's workshop remained strong. Very little is known of her life, not even whether she ever married.

Longhi was very respected as a portraitist, but only one of her portraits, the Camaldolese Monk, is known today.