Maria 1648 - 1665

Elisabetta Sirani made this etching, called Maria, in Italy sometime in the mid-17th century. Religious images like this one were widespread in Europe at the time, but what’s unique is that this one was made by a woman. Sirani was from Bologna, a city with a relatively progressive attitude toward female artists. Her father was an artist, and he trained her in his workshop. While women were often excluded from formal artistic training, workshops run by family members provided opportunities for women to learn and practice art. Sirani became a successful artist in her own right, and she even ran her own workshop, employing other women. To understand the social and institutional contexts that made Sirani’s career possible, we can look to archival sources and the biographies of female artists. This helps us to understand the dynamics of gender and artistic production in the 17th century.