Nursing Madonna

Elisabetta Sirani was a Bolognese painter of religious and mythological subjects active in the mid-17th century. Working primarily in oil on canvas, she produced altarpieces and devotional works distinguished by their compositional clarity and luminous color. She trained under her father Giovanni Andrea Sirani and became one of the first women painters to establish an independent workshop and accept major commissions. Her career was cut short by her death at age 27.