She apparently kept none of her earnings for herself.
Locals doubted Elisabetta Sirani's skills and assumed that she had help in completing oil paintings at such a fast pace. To prove them wrong, she arranged an exhibition of work in progress at the Sirani studio and invited European artists and the public to observe her methods. According to one anecdote, when the Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici visited her workplace in 1664 to watch her paint his uncle, Prince Leopold de' Medici of Tuscany, Cosimo commissioned a Madonna for himself. Sirani filled the order immediately so that it could dry before he left for home.
Artist of Narrative Dramas
Sirani flourished at historic and religious scenarios and, by age 17, completed over 190 drawings. One of her most dramatic works is the unmasked figure of Melpomene, the Greek tragic muse, who inspired creators of drama, art, poetry, and music. Pale-hued and cool against a backdrop of fringed drapes, she sits turbaned and pensive at a table among the tools of her trade, including quill pen, ink pot, books, and the flesh-toned mask worn by the stage performer.
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