Elisabetta Sirani

January 8, 1638–August 28, 1665

Active in: Italy

Biography

Born in Bologna on January 8, 1638, Elisabetta Sirani was the daughter of Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610–1670), a painter and student of Guido Reni (1575–1642). Sirani first trained in her father’s studio and quickly became a gifted artist, recognized for her talents throughout Bologna. Her sisters Barbara Sirani (1641–1692) and Anna Maria Sirani (1645–1715) also became professional artists. Of the three, Elisabetta was the best known. By 1654, her father was too ill to work and Sirani began running the family workshop. Her studio was financially successful, and she was able to support her family with her teaching fees and commissions for portraits and devotional paintings.

Sirani was a prolific artist and over two hundred paintings by her have been identified. She kept meticulous records of her commissions. In addition to portraits, historical, mythological and Biblical narratives, and allegorical paintings, she produced at least thirteen large-scale public altarpieces. In the early 1660s, she began to focus on small-scale devotional images of the Virgin and Child and the Holy Family, which were commercially successful and popular among collectors. A skilled draughtsman, hundreds of drawings survive in a variety of media, including pen and ink, brush and wash, and black and red chalk.

Sirani died unexpectedly in August 1665 at the age of twenty-seven. Her death was considered suspicious and a maidservant, Lucia Tolomelli, was accused of poisoning her. The charges were later withdrawn, and art historians now believe she died of a ruptured peptic ulcer, perhaps from the stress of overseeing a financially successful, high-volume artist’s studio. She was given an elaborate funeral with a life-sized sculpture of the artist and interment in the Basilica of San Domenico. The sculpture and accompanying catafalque are illustrated in Carlo Cesare Malvasia’s Felsina pittrice: vite de’pittori bolognesi, first published in 1678, where she is described as a leading figure in the nascent history of Bolognese painting.

Selected Works

An image of Christ being baptized as an adult, with Saint John the Baptist standing alongside him as Jesus kneels on a rock by a body of water. A dove and an image of God appear above the two men, with God appearing from the clouds, surrounded by angels. The composition is filled with other figures, most of whom are not looking at the two central figures.

Elisabetta Sirani, Baptism of Christ, 1658. Oil on canvas, 430 x 350 cm. Chiesa di San Girolamo della Certosa, Bologna.

An image of Christ with his wrists bound and crossed in front of him, wearing a crown of thorns. He holds a spear in one hand and looks off to the right with an anguished expression. He has a beard and brown curls that fall to his shoulder, with a faint halo behind his head. He wears a mauve, satin cloth draped around his otherwise nude body.

Elisabetta Sirani, Ecce Homo, after 1660. Oil on canvas, 107 x 83.5 cm. Muzeum umění Olomouc, Czech Republic.

The main figure is a young woman, who sits with four other young women surrounding her. Another woman is kneeled in front of her, presenting a nude infant that is partially wrapped in a white cloth. The central figure points to the woman with her right hand. Alongside the infant, there is a tray with several flowers. Behind the woman holding the infant, there are two additional figures.

Elisabetta Sirani, Finding of Moses, before 1665. Oil on canvas, 112.5 x 130 cm. Private collection.

A nude Infant Saint John the Baptist fills the composition, sitting on a rock alongside a lamb. He holds a small dish that he is filling with water. He has large, expressive eyes and brown curls. He looks intently at the dish, seemingly unaware of the viewer. He rests one hand on the lamb’s head.

Elisabetta Sirani, The Infant Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, 1664. Oil on canvas, 75.5 x 62 cm. National Galleries of Scotland.

A young woman is seated in an elaborate red and gold dress, embellished with jewels. Her dress is pulled up to expose her right leg and she holds up right hand up. She is stabbing her thigh with a small blade, leaving bleeding wounds on her leg. Through the doorway behind her, we can see three women in the next room having a conversation. They seem unaware of what is happening with the young women in the red and gold dress.

Elisabetta Sirani, Portia Wounding her Thigh, 1664. Oil on canvas, 101 x 138 cm. Collezioni d'Arte e di Storia della Fondazione della Cassa di Risparmio, Bologna.

A self-portrait of the artist, seated at an easel and holding a palette in one hand and a brush in the other. She is looking directly at the viewer, with her brush touching the canvas as though she is painting the viewer. She is wearing an elaborate costume made of lush blue, gold, and red fabric and she wears a laurel crown in her hair. On the table behind her there is an ink well with a quill, several books, and a sculptural model of a figure.

Elisabetta Sirani, Self-Portrait, 1658. Oil on canvas. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.

A brown ink drawing on terracotta colored paper with white heightening, the image of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, who appears to be two years old. He stands on a rock to reach up to her, showing her something in his right hand. She embraces him with both arms and looks down at him with motherly love and devotion.

Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child, ca. 1653–56. Pencil drawing with red and brown wash, 32.2 x 25.8 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem.

A half-length image of the Virgin Mary, dressed in a cream and red dress, with a blue shawl around her shoulder. She holds the Infant Jesus in her lap, seated on a pink pillow. The Infant holds a crown of flowers in his right hand and lifts it up to place on her head. They look at each other with love and devotion.

Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child, 1663. Oil on canvas, 86.4 x 69.8 cm. National Museum of Women in the Arts.

A bust-length, printed image of the Virgin Mary. She is draped in a shawl and crosses her arms at the wrist across her chest. She looks down with her eyes closed, as though lost in thought or prayer. Behind her, the rough illusion of clouds fills the background.

Elisabetta Sirani, The Virgin Mary, ca. 1655–1665. Etching and drypoint, 12.5 x 10.7 cm. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Continue Exploring

View artist timeline
Selected works

Circle

Daughter of
Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610–1670)

Sister of
Barbara Sirani (1641–1692)

Sister of
Anna Maria Sirani (1645–1715)

Teacher of
Veronica Fontana (1651–1690)

Teacher of
Ginevra Cantofoli (1618–1672)

Teacher of
Caterina Pepoli

Teacher of
Maria Elena Panzacchi (1668–1737)

Teacher of
Lucretia Forni

Teacher of
Camelia Lanteri

Teacher of
Lucrezia Scarfaglia

Teacher of
Veronica Franchi

Bibliography

Arcangeli, Francesco, ed. Maestri della pittura del seicento emiliano. Bologna: Edizioni Alfa, 1959.

Bellini, Paolo. "Elisabetta Sirani." Nouvelles de l'estampe 30 (1976): 7-12.

Benati, Daniele. "Elisabetta Sirani." In Disegni emiliani del Sei-Settecento. Come nascono I dipinti, 178-83. Cinisello Balsamo: Amilcare Pizzi Editore, 1991.

Bentini, Jadranka, ed. Elisabetta Sirani: "pittrice eroina" 1638-1665. Bologna: Editrice Compositori, 2004.

Bohn, Babette. "The Antique Heroines of Elisabetta Sirani." Renaissance Studies 16, no. 1 (2002): 52-79.

Bohn, Babette. "Elisabetta Sirani and Drawing Practices in Early Modern Bologna." Master Drawings 42, no. 3 (2004): 207-36.

Bohn, Babette. "Elisabetta Sirani's Portrait of Signora Ortensia Leoni Cordini as St. Dorothy." Chazen Museum of Art Bulletin University of Wisconsin-Madison (2010): 6-10.

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Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996.

Cheney, Liana. "Elizabetta Sirani: 'Il pennello lieto non lacrimato." In Essays on Women Artists, 71-80. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003.

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Frisoni, Fiorella. "Elisabetta Sirani." In Nell'età di Correggio e dei Carracci. Pittura in Emilia nei secoli XVI e XVII, 534-37. Bologna: Nuova Alfa, 1986.

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Picinardi, G. Luigi. Il pennello lagrimato. Bologna, 1665.

Picinardi, G. Luigi. La Poesia muta celebrata della pittura loquaci applause di nobili ingegni al pennelle immortale della Signora Elisabetta Sirani pittrice bolognese. Bologna: Evangelista Dozza, 1666.

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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.

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Toselli, Ottavio Mazzoni. Di Elisabetta Sirani pittrice Bolognese e del supposto veneficio onde credesi morta nell'anno XXVII di sua età. Bologna, 1833.

Entry Notes

For Jane Martin, the first woman to chair the art museum’s National Advisory Board, who has given her love, time, attention, and effort to her community, the university, and the museum, I gratefully dedicate this entry on Elisabetta Sirani, an especially generous and gifted artist.—Heidi Gealt