Submitted by the staff of the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH)
This painting is a bit of a mystery to us.
The original is currently on display at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in the Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy. It has been attributed to both artists Guido Reni (1575-1642) and Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665).
Sirani was an Italian painter and printmaker who studied under her father, also an artist, and a pupil of Reni. Sadly, Sirani died at the age of 27. However, in her short life, she established herself as a groundbreaking female artist in Bologna, Italy, eventually running her own art studio, where she taught other young artists and completed an estimated 200 paintings.
The subject of this painting is Beatrice Cenci (1577-1599), a Roman noblewoman who, after years of abuse at his hand, with the help of her family, murdered her father, Count Francesco Cenci. When his murder was discovered, Pope Clement VIII in Rome sentenced the family to death for their crime. Knowing the count’s horrible reputation, the people of Rome were outraged and sided with Beatrice and her family. The pope would not relent and, in September 1599, Beatrice and all but her youngest brother were executed.
If the original was painted by Sirani, some have remarked that this portrait could be an act of early feminism.
Does OMAH have a 17th-century Italian masterpiece in its collection? We are currently working to find the origins of this artwork.
Next week, we will feature another object from the OMAH collection that showcases our local history.
