In her short career Francesca Woodman (1958–1981) produced an extraordinary body of work acclaimed for its singularity of style and range of innovative techniques. From the beginning, her focus was on the relationship with her body as both the object of the gaze and the acting subject behind the camera. Completed during the year she spent in Rome at the Rhode Island School of Design’s European Honors programme, Fish Calendar–6 days, Rome, Italy, 1977–1978 reveals the influence of Italy and Italian culture on Woodman’s art. This year proved pivotal to her artistic development, and the works from this period emphasise the integral influence of Italian art and culture on her aesthetic vision. One of the key influences of Italian art on Woodman’s work was in her precise use of composition, which became more sophisticated during her time in Rome. She explored perspective and consciously used formal strategies learnt from her study of Florentine masters, particularly Giotto and Piero della Francesca, and classical sculpture. In Italy Woodman extended her development of classical subject matter, predominantly the female nude and tropes of still life and classical composition. At the same time she enhanced and extended her use of narrative and performative strategies.

Born in 1958 in Denver, Colorado, Francesca Woodman lived and worked in New York and Italy until her death in 1981. Since 1986, Woodman’s work has been exhibited widely and has been the subject of extensive critical study in the United States and Europe. Significant solo presentations include Francesca Woodman: Portrait of a Reputation, MCA Denver, Colorado, USA (2019–2020); On Being An Angel, Fundación Canal, Madrid, Spain (2019); Life in Motion: Egon Schiele/Francesca Woodman, Tate Liverpool, UK (2018); Francesca Woodman, Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (2011–2012), touring to Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2012).