Elisabetta SIRANI Bologna, 1638 - 1665 Saint Cecilia Oil on canvas Inscribed 'E.SIRANI.F' near the violin Saint Cecilia, oil on canvas, by E. Sirani 111.50 x 95 cm (43.90 x 37.40 in.) Comment: The daughter of the painter, art dealer and principal pupil of Guido Reni, Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610-1670), Elisabetta was the eldest of four children. The three sisters followed in their father's footsteps, with Elisabetta showing a talent for drawing from an early age. The family environment, with its extensive library, made it possible to quickly educate the girls, who had no access to university or to the study of nudes in the studio. Elisabetta fulfilled a large number of commissions and proved to be a radiant personality: at the age of 23, she opened a painter's studio exclusively for women and was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. Her success allowed her to devote herself freely to her second passion: music. This is a particularly moving subject for the artist, since Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and, like Elisabetta, a 'heroine' taken from life far too soon. The young talent died suddenly of a gastric ulcer at the age of 27. We would like to thank Dr Adelina Modesti for confirming the authenticity of this painting, which she considers to be an early work produced under the influence of Lorenzo Pasinelli, in an e-mail dated 21 February 2024.