Based on a 19th-century inscription on the back of the canvas, the painting has been recognized as the surviving fragment of Elisabetta Sirani's self-portrait, originally placed on the left side of a large work titled “Baptism of Christ.” The portrait is mentioned in the Nota delle pitture fatte da me Elisabetta Sirani, handed down from her father Giovanni Andrea Sirani after Elisabetta’s untimely death in 1665. In her diary under the year 1658, the young artist, then twenty years old, writes: "A very large painting for the Fathers of the Certosa, within which there is the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan: and the two little Saints who go from the sides in their company, and in one of these is my portrait, that is, the one who looks up to Heaven.”
1658 was a crucial year for Elisabetta, who, at 20 attempted such a monumental work, intended for public enjoyment and commissioned by a highly authoritative client. Also in 1658, on January 22, the oldest known praise addressed to Elisabetta was written in a letter sent to Leopoldo de' Medici in Florence by Bonaventura Bisi, a Franciscan friar known as the Padre Pittorino, skilled in miniature painting and renowned for his artistic flair. His praise facilitated the professional affirmation of the novice female painter Elisabetta.
This youthful self-portrait is the only one that the artist herself mentions. It is known that the self-portrait, before being cut and reduced to a modest fragment, measured 220x76 cm and was a full-length figure. What remains is a female effigy, half-length, wearing a monastic veil and wimple with her eyes raised to skyward. Elisabetta modestly hides her hair, poses contrite and “looks to Heaven.” The self-portrait remained hanging in the church of the Certosa for almost 150 years.
Autoritratto come santina (Self-portrait as a Saint) by Elisabetta Sirani - Oil on canvas / 1658 - Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna (Italy) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #womanartist #selfportrait #portraitofawoman #womensart #fineart #saint #ElisabettaSirani #italianart #PinacotecaNazionalediBologna
