Elisabetta Sirani - The Teenage Maestro of Italian Baroque Orientation
Elisabetta Sirani, born on January 8, 1638, was a very famous Italian artist from the School of Bologna.
She was a Baroque virtuoso painter and had learned the finesse from her father Giovanni Andre Sirani (1610-70), who himself was a renowned artist of his times.
Elisabetta was a follower of a famed Bolognese religious painter Guido Reni (1575-1642).
By the young age of seventeen, she was a professional engraver and painter.
In her nineteenth year, Elisabetta started working independently, while also assisting in her family workshop.
She painted large-scale pictures in the full view of large audiences to dispel the gossip that her paintings were made by her father.
Her works centered on the scriptural, historical, and mythological themes.
The light effect and the flow of brush strokes imparted a unique and neat Baroque touch to her works.
In 1658, when Sirani was at the pinnacle of popularity, the Church of Cerosini employed her to paint 'The Baptism of Christ' on its walls.
In 1664, the Prince of Tuscany commissioned her to paint his portrait and Madonna.
Elisabetta had several nobles and wealthy royals as her patrons.
The Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici was one her ardent admirers.
At the tender age of fourteen, Sirani owned an art studio and opened a School of Arts for women painters.
This was even before she herself became an established painter.
The school turned into a platform for young female artists, as during that era no other institute trained women painters.
Apart from being an excellent artist, she was also a good musician and a poet.
Sirani has produced around 200 drawings, paintings, and etchings.
'Portia Wounding Her Thigh' (1664), 'Assumption of the Virgin,' 'Saint Eustache,' 'Judith with the Head of Holofernes' (1658), 'Madonna with child and Infant Saint John,' 'Saint Jerome,' and 'Portrait of Anna Maria Ranuzzi' (1665) are few of her most celebrated works.
In 1665, at the young age of twenty-seven Sirani bid adieu to the world.
There has been a lot of mystery surrounding her death.
Some rumors suggest that her jealous house cleaner poisoned her.
She was however, acquitted of any foul play because the autopsy detected perforated ulcers as the cause of Elisabetta's death.
Another rumor suggests that the premature death of her father and the sudden responsibility of the family brought upon her a lot of stress, which caused her death.
Distinguished crowds at the large public funeral arranged paid her tribute.
Elisabetta was laid to rest in her father's tomb.
She spread her legacy through her teachings, which her pupils, including her sisters Barbara and Anna Maria, took forward.
She was a Baroque virtuoso painter and had learned the finesse from her father Giovanni Andre Sirani (1610-70), who himself was a renowned artist of his times.
Elisabetta was a follower of a famed Bolognese religious painter Guido Reni (1575-1642).
By the young age of seventeen, she was a professional engraver and painter.
In her nineteenth year, Elisabetta started working independently, while also assisting in her family workshop.
She painted large-scale pictures in the full view of large audiences to dispel the gossip that her paintings were made by her father.
Her works centered on the scriptural, historical, and mythological themes.
The light effect and the flow of brush strokes imparted a unique and neat Baroque touch to her works.
In 1658, when Sirani was at the pinnacle of popularity, the Church of Cerosini employed her to paint 'The Baptism of Christ' on its walls.
In 1664, the Prince of Tuscany commissioned her to paint his portrait and Madonna.
Elisabetta had several nobles and wealthy royals as her patrons.
The Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici was one her ardent admirers.
At the tender age of fourteen, Sirani owned an art studio and opened a School of Arts for women painters.
This was even before she herself became an established painter.
The school turned into a platform for young female artists, as during that era no other institute trained women painters.
Apart from being an excellent artist, she was also a good musician and a poet.
Sirani has produced around 200 drawings, paintings, and etchings.
'Portia Wounding Her Thigh' (1664), 'Assumption of the Virgin,' 'Saint Eustache,' 'Judith with the Head of Holofernes' (1658), 'Madonna with child and Infant Saint John,' 'Saint Jerome,' and 'Portrait of Anna Maria Ranuzzi' (1665) are few of her most celebrated works.
In 1665, at the young age of twenty-seven Sirani bid adieu to the world.
There has been a lot of mystery surrounding her death.
Some rumors suggest that her jealous house cleaner poisoned her.
She was however, acquitted of any foul play because the autopsy detected perforated ulcers as the cause of Elisabetta's death.
Another rumor suggests that the premature death of her father and the sudden responsibility of the family brought upon her a lot of stress, which caused her death.
Distinguished crowds at the large public funeral arranged paid her tribute.
Elisabetta was laid to rest in her father's tomb.
She spread her legacy through her teachings, which her pupils, including her sisters Barbara and Anna Maria, took forward.
