Absent from Classical art, she first appears in Apuleius’ ‘The Golden Ass’, which was written in the 2nd century. Wonderful paintings, particularly from women artists, of this novel.
Sirani
Caesar and Cleopatra in Egypt, the suicide of Cato the Younger, Caesar’s triumphs, and the development of a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.
Even the boldest of artists has avoided painting abandoned babies, except in the Biblical story of Moses. Veronese, Poussin, Sirani, Moreau and more.
A whirlwind trip through the history of compositional chiaroscuro, from the Renaissance, through Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi, to Rembrandt.
Biography to the death of Darius the King of Persia, with superb paintings by Degas, Elisabetta Sirani, Altdorfer, Jan Brueghel the Elder, and more.
Ulysses sojourn with Circe, from the Odyssey, as an inset to Virgil’s Aeneid, as retold by Ovid in his Metamorphoses. A first-hand account of transformation.
She succeeded at the highest level in mythology, religious works, and portraiture, and paved the way for other women artists.
Her paintings became sought after, and her themes highly innovative. But a stomach ulcer brought her life to a sudden end.
A brilliant painter who brought wide tonal range and colour to Bologna, and started training many young women.
