Two particularly notable paintings by Lavinia Fontana

It’s fair to say that almost every painting featured in Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer, Rule Breaker, the exhibition that the National Gallery of Ireland is currently dedicated to the Bolognese artist, has the power of charming the viewer but two in particular – Cleopatra (1585 ca. or 1605) and Venus and Mars (1595 ca.) – have had me hooked on their iconography since the exhibition opened in May.