Elisabetta Sirani; 1638 - 1665 — an Italian artist of the Bolognese school, who at the age of 17 showed such great promise that she was called "the second coming of Guido Reni". Lucrative orders, widespread recognition and admiration for her paintings became common for Sirani from a young age. And all the girls in those days had to get married quickly and deal exclusively with raising children and housekeeping, but certainly not with painting. We will tell you how Elisabetta managed to become an artist and about her unusual life in this article.
Elisabetta Sirani. Self-portrait
Like all female artists of that time, Elisabetta received her first painting lessons from her father, Giacomo Sirani, who was an artist, collector and art dealer. He was friends with the famous Guido Reni, and after his death, he actually inherited the studio where Reni worked. Giacomo finished several of his unfinished paintings and opened his own painting school. It is not surprising that, in addition to other students, he taught his daughter, hoping that she would be his assistant, and perhaps he would be able to pass off her paintings as his own in order to sell them profitably.
Magdalena
Elisabetta began drawing at the age of 12, and her drawings were so good that Giacomo realized that he could entrust his workshop and hand over his business to her. She was also very pretty, could sing wonderfully and had a lively character. She had many admirers, who even came to pose for her specially, to spend time in the company of such a nice girl.
The Finding of Moses
But they usually did not have to sit for long, Elisabetta worked very quickly, there is a legend that one day Cosimo Medici came into her workshop and ordered a small image of the Madonna. Sirani immediately set to work and, after waiting a couple of hours, Medici received the desired painting.
Мадонна с младенцем
For that time, all this was very unusual: a girl draws no worse than a seasoned male artist, almost without sketches and drafts, immediately on a clean sheet, and on the canvas from under her hand, as if by magic, a new wonderful image appears. Elisabetta realized that this way she could arrange public sessions to demonstrate her skills. In this way, she attracted new customers, and at the same time refuted all sorts of ridiculous speculations that her father painted the pictures for her, or, even worse, slave artists in chains.
The Rape of Europa
When Elisabetta was 17, her father was finally finished off by gout. He could no longer work, and even moved with difficulty. She had to take on all the worries of running the workshop and earning money. The main customer at that time was the church, and here Elisabetta was lucky: the priests treated her without prejudice and gave her orders as if she were an established male artist. She concentrated on what was then considered one of the most revered religious paintings, creating complex multi-figure compositions, such as the famous painting "Baptism of Christ".
Baptism of Christ
In Bologna, the locals were sincerely proud that their city had such a female artist and even allowed Elisabetta to open her own painting school for girls. She encouraged her students not to be afraid to take up historical and religious painting, and not to limit themselves to simple portraits and still lifes. However, all this was unofficial, and her students could only dream of competing on equal terms with men.Portia inflicts a wound on herself
Elisabetta, like Artemisia Gentileschi, was fascinated by mythological stories about strong and strong-willed women, such as Judith, Portia, or Timoclea.
Timoclea pushing her rapist into the well
Elisabetta even began studying at the famous Academy of St. Luke in Rome, and attended classes on an equal basis with men, although she was the only girl in this educational institution. But, unfortunately, Elisabetta did not live long and died suddenly at the age of 27. An investigation began, it was suspected that she was poisoned by envious people or a servant who had quarreled with the artist. But the truth turned out to be more prosaic: Sirani was diagnosed with an advanced stomach ulcer, perhaps due to not very healthy nutrition and a tendency to quick snacks so as not to be distracted from work.
Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Herodias with the Head of John the Baptist
By the way, Elisabetta never got married, it was said that her father deliberately discouraged suitors from her so that she would work and bring money to the family. And there were plenty of people willing to marry her. Even her death at the age of 27, according to contemporaries, was exclusively a consequence of "love sickness from a lack of male affection."
Self-portrait
This is most likely not the case, and the refusal to marry was most likely a conscious choice of Elisabetta herself: she was simply attracted to creativity much more than to the “correct” dull family life.
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