Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614) is widely considered to be a woman of many firsts in western Europe. She was the first woman to achieve professional success as an artist beyond the confines of a court or a convent. She was the first woman to run her own workshop at a time when women were not allowed to conduct business of their own. She was the first woman to paint large-scale public altarpieces and nudes. All this while giving birth to eleven children, only three of whom survived her.