Elisabetta Sirani

She was born in Bologna in 1638, and she was the daughter of Giovanni Andrea Sirani. Elisabetta is one of the few examples in the history of painting of women artists who achieved fame and recognition from their contemporaries. In her short life, cut short at the age of twenty-seven, possibly due to poisoning, she left behind a considerable body of work in which the influence of Guido Reni stands out above all, consciously sought by the painter herself. Her devout and religious painting captures the grace, refinement, and delicacy of Reni's late art, utilizing it in her charming compositions. The 'Baptism of Christ' in the Carthusian Monastery of Bologna, painted in 1658, is her first work with a personal tone, in which she manages to partly distance herself from Reni's influence, showing an interest in intimate daily life. Elisabetta's most characteristic paintings were her 'Virgins with the Child' and her 'Holy Families,' small-format works intended for private devotion.

As a draughtswoman, Elisabetta Sirani was original and her wash drawings, executed with a brush, demonstrate absolute virtuosity in capturing form and luminous contrasts, making them impossible to confuse with those of any contemporary artists (Mena, M.: Catalog of Drawings, VI, Italian Drawings of the 17th Century, Prado Museum, 1983, p. 154).