Elisabetta Sirani

#ArtSaturday Elisabetta Sirani, 1638-1665
Italian Baroque painter

Self-Portrait, 1658 pic.twitter.com/xCTPKi8vFS

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Sirani was born into an artistic family where her father was a painter who also taught students.

Self-Portrait in Chalk, pre-1658 pic.twitter.com/sosn7jOs0N

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Initially, Sirani’s father was unwilling to teach her to be a painter because she was a woman. She taught herself by imitating him.

Self-Portrait as Artist, 1660 pic.twitter.com/z0SAJWbn4E

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
1654: When Sirani’s father became incapacitated by illness, Sirani began running his art studio.

Timoclea Killing the Captain Who Raped Her, 1659 pic.twitter.com/miih6TQbAh

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Sirani was the family’s principal financial support: she earned money through her students’ fees and via commissions for portraits.

Madonna della Rosa (Madonna of the Rose), 1661 pic.twitter.com/vlD69EE2Y0

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Sirani’s studio, located in Bologna, where female artists were appreciated and celebrated, was highly successful.

St Anthony of Padua with Baby Jesus, c 1660s pic.twitter.com/y9nffdIpND

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Sirani’s painting of Judith, who beheaded Holofernes, is considered “less violent” (though she still holds his head) than that of Caravaggio (1598) or that of Artemesia Gentileschi, c 1620.

Judith with the Head of Holofernes, 1660s pic.twitter.com/vD8kmQ7dTN

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
As with many of the other artists of the period, whose works were usually done via commission, many of Sirani’s subjects were religious, historical, or mythological.

Judith with the Head of Holofernes, 1660s pic.twitter.com/OoY49RgQlC

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani

Madonna and Child, wash, date unknown pic.twitter.com/Ko3md1GtEc

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani

Cleopatra, date unknown pic.twitter.com/zIUozousCh

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani

Cleopatra, 1664 pic.twitter.com/H5OPuUScwr

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday

Madonna and Child, 1663 pic.twitter.com/dIH5bo1To0

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani

Madonna and Child with St John (the Baptist), 1664 pic.twitter.com/wXpUo5rl5R

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Critics interpreted Sirani’s painting of Portia as showing a woman’s strength & courage, but contemporary feminist critics disagree, pointing out that the painting is too self-violent & sexually sadomasochistic to be feminist.

Portia Wounding Her Thigh, 1664 pic.twitter.com/WoojtFfyhe

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Sirani never married (and by age 27, she was probably considered “too old” to marry), most likely because she was financially supporting her entire family.

Allegory of Justice, Charity, and Prudence (also, The Three Virtures), 1665 pic.twitter.com/jKZ1vC0p5b

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Sirani became a celebrity, famed for her small devotional paintings.

Magdalena, Penitent, 1660s pic.twitter.com/HzmlvjUYEA

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
When Sirani suddenly died at age 27 under suspicious circumstances, a family servant was accused of poisoning her.

Mary Magdalene, 1660s pic.twitter.com/BlbZjpqIoJ

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Because the servant had been dismissed from the family’s employment a few days earlier, she was accused of poisoning Sirani (who was the one paying all the wages and supporting the family).

Madonna and Child, 1660s pic.twitter.com/rn1ksDCyHP

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
Sirani was given an elaborate funeral, and later, the murder charges agaisnt the family servant were dropped.

Herodias with the Head of John the Baptist, 1665 pic.twitter.com/q2tZZXuBJn

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

#ArtSaturday Sirani
1994: The US Postal Service chose Sirani’s 1663 Madonna and Child, sometimes called Virgin and Child, for its holiday stamp, making Sirani the first female artist chosen. pic.twitter.com/JVZMxAzVnm

— Dr. Alexandria Szeman: #BelieveSurvivors (@Alexandria_SZ) July 13, 2019

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