This was particularly true in Bologna, a "college town", proud of its women of achievement. When her father became incapacitated by gout and could no longer paint, Elisabetta supported her family. While most considered her a prodigy, some questioned whether she produced so many paintings, so quickly, by herself. To put the issue to rest, Sirani performed for her admirers, completing a painting in a single day. Small wonder that she died of an ulcer at 25!
During her short career, Elisabetta produced a minimum of 170 paintings. Although she focused on religious subjects and portraits, her masterpiece was "Porcia Wounding Her Thigh", an episode from the history of Julius Caeser and Brutus. It's worth considering how her work might have developed if she hadn't been forced to work so fast and focus on the most commercially successful subject matter. And if she had lived a full life...
In 1994, the U.S. Postal Service chose Sirani's "Virgin and Child" (at right) as its traditional Christmas stamp. She was the first, and to date the only, historical woman artist whose work has ever been chosen.
