Sections

This room features sixteenth and seventeenth-century paintings created for homes and private quarters. The portrait called The Suitor, with a young man holding an unusual key ring, is the work of Mirabello Cavalori, an exceptional mannerist artist. To the sides of the door we see two biblical scenes, Rebecca at the Well by the Bolognese artist Giovanni Antonio Burrini and Esther and Mordecai by Giuseppe Diamantini who was active mainly in Venice. On the opposite wall is a Caravaggesque masterpiece, Rutilio Manetti’s Holy Family where a beam of light brings the figures out of the darkness. Women play a prominent role in this room both as subjects and artists: Vincenzo Maffei’s Judith is striking for the bottom view perspective and the heroine’s proud expression. The pair comprising the Madonna of the Pear and Saint Joseph and the Child are the work of Elisabetta Sirani, one of the stars among seventeenth-century artists. She established an academy for women in Bologna; one of the patrons and students was the noble lady Ginevra Cantofoli who painted Artemisia II of Caria which is paired with the picture of Sophonisba of Carthage, two striking examples of strength and character.

The room’s new lighting and arrangement were made possible thanks to the support of Max Mara