Lucrina and Her Art
After entering the convent, Lucrina lived there for the rest of her life either painting decorations for the convent or painting portraits of the princesses who were raised there. She learned how to paint from her brother, Domenico. He was a male family member who was already artistically trained, so it was common for him to pass down his knowledge onto his family.Anne Larsen and Diana Robin and Carole Levin, editors, ''Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France and England'' (California: ABC-CLIO 2007), p144 However, since she became a nun, her sheltered lifestyle provided her with limited resources to visual models, artistic training, and documentary sources to record her personal life. It was only until recently that scholars were able to gather a complete collection of Lucrina's work since most of her work was mixed up with her brother's work. Lucrina painted these portraits solely for the convent without expecting any financial compensation for her work. This situation was very typical for nun-painters. Her paintings fell under two categories, either portraits or works on religious subjects. It was determined that she made more religious works than portraits.Sandra Cavallo and Silvia Evangelisti, ''Domestic Institutional Interiors in Early Modern Europe'', 2009 (Vermont: Ashgate 2014), p167 There were about ten religious works that were found throughout the convent's external church that were made by or partly made by Lucrina. Most were found in the chapel dedicated to Saint Margaret, while the rest were found on the chapel walls. They all portrayed the life of Christ. These included “The Annunciation”, “Visitation”, and “Adoration of the Shepherds”. They were also inscribed with the abbreviation “S.L.F.R.F.S.O” or “Suor Lucrina Fetti Romana fece in Sant’Orsola” and the date 1629. The mediocre quality of the paintings implied a sharp decline of artistic development since her brother died six years earlier. Her second group of paintings, portraits of the women of the Gonzaga family, was highly considered by Margherita Gonzaga and she commissioned many paintings from Lucrina. However, her painting had a greater increase in quality after Margherita's death in 1618. For instance, it was widely known that portraits of important women demanded careful attention to detail and a thorough visual record of the model's costume and accessories. These two qualities were clearly evident in Lucrina's portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga during her marriage to Emperor Ferdinando II. Some other portraits she did included Margherita Gonzaga when she was a widow and Caterina de’ Medici Gonzaga with a striking resemblance to Saint Helena.Sandra Cavallo and Silvia Evangelisti, ''Domestic Institutional Interiors in Early Modern Europe'', 2009 (Vermont: Ashgate 2014), p170Other skills
When Lucrina was not providing paintings for the church, she spent the remaining time supporting the convent by taking care of inheritance claims that were associated with Domenico. Ten years after Magherita's death in 1618 financial strains were brought upon the convent. However, Lucrina was able to demonstrate that she had some economic and political knowledge by representing Sant’Orsola and winning appeals for the ownership of family properties. She died around 1673, spending nearly sixty years serving the convent as a nun, painter and economic negotiator.Works
Notes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fetti, Lucrina 1590s births 1651 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian women painters Painters from Rome 17th-century Italian women artists Sibling artists