#IdaBottiScifoni
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Autoritratto (Self-portrait) by Ida Botti Scifoni (Italian) - Oil on canvas / 1839 - Palazzo Pitti (Florence, Italy) #womeninart #art #selfportrait #italianart #oilpainting #fineart #portrait #womanartist #womensart #IdaBottiScifoni #femaleartist #artwork #palazzopitti #uffizigallery #beauty #style
The Roman painter Ida Botti Scifoni represents herself in three-quarters, while she turns suddenly towards the viewer, her gaze languid and deep, her expression sweet and reassuring. Her dark black hair is combed according to the fashion of the 1830s, with a central part, a braid wrapped at the nape of the neck and cascades of curls framing the face with delicate features. The austere and unadorned forest green clothing is embellished by a large shawl with flowers and white, red and green stripes, almost as if to allude to the colors of the future Italian flag. Scifoni’s training took place mainly in Rome, where she learned the rudiments of painting, then dedicating herself to portraiture and still lifes, considered at the time the most suitable genres for the few women who at the time were allowed to apply themselves to the figurative arts. She later also tried her hand at historical compositions and genre painting with notable canvases, such as The Roman Citizen and Saint Francis Xavier. After moving to Florence, she married Felice Scifoni, affiliated with the Carboneria and in exile there since 1833, where he was serving his sentence for having participated in the Romagna uprisings. Ida Botti continued her artistic career, first as a student of Giovanni Salvagni, then as an independent artist, portraying some noblewomen of the time, including Maria Mercede di Bonilla and Matilde Bonaparte, daughter of Jerome Bonaparte, king of Westphalia and brother of Napoleon, and from 1841 wife of the Russian prince and magnate Anatolio Demidov. Ida Botti introduced the writer Amelia Caiani to Matilde, helping to create a sort of female enclave in the living room of the Demidov villa where fashion, clothes, dances and artistic subjects were discussed.
February 2, 2025 at 8:16 AM