Why Baroque Painter Elisabetta Sirani Won’t Let You Forget Her

Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665) rarely missed an opportunity to sign her paintings. Though her career ended with her untimely passing at just 27, she was already a master in her field as a painter and engraver, producing 200 canvases and a groundbreaking reputation for teaching other women. In 1678, just over a decade after her death, historians were already documenting the resilience, talent, and rebellion of her brief yet prolific artistic career. Robert Simon Fine Art in New York now presents an opportunity to see some of Sirani’s stunning works in person at his gallery this month, in an exhibition expertly put together over just six weeks of summer preparation.

According to Uffizi Gallery scholars, women in Sirani’s lifetime were largely relegated to roles as either nuns or mothers, denied access to education in the arts or otherwise. But Sirani’s father was an artist, and in progressive areas such as her hometown of Bologna, women of a certain class with paternal or fraternal access to artistic education could find a loophole. Not only did Sirani take advantage of this opportunity, eventually running her father’s studio as a rare deviation from the patriarchal tradition, but she began teaching female students directly herself. Sirani singlehandedly trained and inspired a new generation of at least 11 women artists in Bologna alone—among them, Elena Maria Panzacchi, Veronica Fontana, Lucrezia Scarfaglia, Teresa Coriolano and Angela Teresa Muratori—before joining the faculty as a professor at the male-dominated Academia di San Luca in Rome.

The selection of works on view at Robert Simon Fine Art include those on loan from private collectors and museums, some of which he personally attributed over his decades-long career. Simon is best known as one of the “sleeper-hunter” dealers behind the discovery of the Leonardo da Vinci work, Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), which went on to resale for $450 million at Christie’s auction house by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in November 2017. His showcases are undoubtedly among the highest quality Old Master works in the United States, peppered with occasionally colorful and eccentric inclusions.

To solidify her success, Sirani amplified her femaleness. She invited visitors [naysayers] to watch a woman paint live in her studio, and was noted for her youth and beauty as much as her indisputable talent. In her works, she often incorporated powerful legends of mythic female figures. Simon cites two, duplicated portraits of noblewoman Ortensia Leoni Cordini portrayed as Dorothea. Simon uses the duality to address subtle shifts in technique and color, ever-attentive to detail. But the most jarring component of the painting is its choice of Dorothea, the virgin martyr who fled Rome for modern-day Turkey, where she could not escape death for her refusal to marry a pagan governor and was eventually beheaded. Ironically, the works were commissioned by Cordini’s husband, a Medici courtier named Francesco.

Another work on view is a portrait of Delilah, from the Sampsonian myth in which she cuts the hair of the man, and ultimately, his strength. These poignant, unabashed subjects are juxtaposed with more commercial, soft scenes of women and children. Sirani had no children of her own.

Drawings, goauches and engravings accompany the showcase, once again leveraged by Simon as teaching tools for those eager to learn the nuances of Italian technique. But perhaps more importantly, they provide a testament to the artist’s diverse range of talent and self-promotion. Her energy and prolific results have endured for hundreds of years, catapulting her into lasting immortality.

Robert Simon Fine Art is located at 22 East 80th Street, Monday through Friday, 10am-5:30pm. A reception for the showcase will be held September 14th.