SIRANI, Elisabetta
(b. 1638, Bologna, d. 1665, Bologna)

Portia Wounding her Thigh

1664
Oil on canvas, 101 x 138 cm
Stephen Warren Miles and Marilyn Ross Miles Foundation, Houston

The painting, one of the most significant of Sirani's career, depicts the scene when the Roman Portia, daughter of Cato and wife of Brutus, wounds herself in the thigh with a dagger. The free and bold brushwork is in the Venetian manner, along with the brilliant colours. The jewelry worn by the Roman matron is meticulously depicted.




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