Anna Maria Sirani

1645–1715

Active in: Italy

Biography

The youngest of the three Sirani sisters, Anna Maria trained in her family’s workshop with her father, Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610–1670), and with Elisabetta (1638–1665) and Barbara (1641–1692). Although her work is not as well-known as that of either of her older sisters, she was a prolific artist whose artistic accomplishments were recorded by Luigi Crespi (1708–1779) in his Vite de' pittori bolognesi non descritte nella Felsina pittrice, first published in 1769.

In his account of her life and work, Crespi mentions several significant altarpiece commissions, including one for the Chiesa di Capugnano in Alto Reno Terme. She had several prominent patrons who commissioned small devotional works, such as Cardinal Galeazzo Marescotti (1627–1726). Sirani never married or had children. She died in Bologna in 1715.

Selected Works

An image of the Virgin Mary and Infant Jesus, with the Infant Saint John the Baptist at her feet, enthroned in the clouds. Below them, Jesus and Saint John the Baptist appear as adults, with Jesus looking up at the clouds above. The painting is set in a frame between two columns, as part of a larger architectural decoration for a church.

Anna Maria Sirani, Madonna con Bambino e Santi, ca. 1690–99. Oil on canvas. Chiesa di San Vitale Martire, Granarolo dell'Emilia.

An image of a saint, who appears as an old man in elaborate ecclesiastical robes, holding a staff. He looks up to the clouds above him, where two God the Father and the Son appear, each with a hand on a globe. There is a hat on the table behind the saint, and red curtains on either side of the composition.

Anna Maria Sirani, San Martino, 1669. Oil on canvas. Chiesa di San Martino del Medesano.

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Selected works

Circle

Daughter of
Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610–1670)

Sister of
Barbara Sirani (1641–1692)

Sister of
Elisabetta Sirani (1638–1665)

Bibliography

Crespi, Luigi. Vite de' pittori bolognesi non descritte nella Felsina pittrice. Rome: Stamperia di Marco Pagliarini, 1769.

Rocco, Patricia. “Maniera Devota/mano Donnesca: Women, Virtue, and Visual Imagery During the Counter-Reformation in the Papal States, 1575-1675.” PhD Dissertation. City University of New York, Graduate Center, 2014.