Giulia Elisabetta Lama (1681-October 7, 1747)

• Was an Italian painter.
• Giulia Lama (alias Lisalba Arcadia) was born in the parish of Santa Maria Formosa in Venice.

• She was the daughter of the painter Agostino Lama and Valentina dell'Avese.

• Lama was the eldest of three siblings: Cecilia, Niccolò, and Pietro.

• She was initially trained by her father and later studied alongside her childhood friend, Giambattista Piazzetta, at the workshop of Antonio Molinari in Venice. 

• Their training resulted in stylistic similarities, particularly their intense use of chiaroscuro.

• Lama was active as both a painter and poet in Venice.

• She lived at Calle Lunga 1242 for most of her life.

• She died on 7 or 8 October 1747, likely from the bubonic plague. • Lama was among the first women to defy the conventions of her time that constrained women from studying and drawing nude figures from life.

• Over 200 surviving drawings confirm that she studied both male and female nude figures during her training.

• The identification of three such altarpieces in a Venetian guidebook from 1733 played a crucial role in reconstructing her artistic legacy.

• Lama never married and managed to support herself financially. 

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