Eleonora Monti - Vite de pittori Bolognesi non descritte nella Felsina pittrice

Eleonora Monti (July 20, 1727 – after 1760) was an 18th-century Italian artist best known as a portraitist. She spent much of her career in the city of

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, Italy, but is also affiliated with the city of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. She was made an honorary member of the

Accademia Clementina The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna ('academy of fine arts of Bologna') is a public tertiary academy of fine art in Bologna, Italy. It has a campus in Cesena. Giorgio Morandi taught engraving at the Accademia for more than 25 years. Hist ...

in 1767, one of few women painters at the time to be recognized institutionally.

Biography

Monti was the daughter of Francesco Monti, an artist, and Teresa Marchioni. As her father was known to be in

, Italy, in the 1720s, it is likely that she was born there. He moved to

in 1738, presumably taking his daughter with him, and she appears to have spent most of her career in that city. Monti showed early aptitude for drawing and painting. Her father began to formally instruct her when she was twelve years old. At first, she produced copies of his prints and then began figure painting. She recopied various subjects proposed by her father in such an exact and measured way, that Elenora decided to dedicated herself to painting portraits, a specialization which required particular precision. She eventually specialized in portraits and became known as a talented portraitist. In his account of her life, artist

Luigi Crespi Luigi Crespi (January 23, 1708 – July 2, 1779) was an Italian painter, and art merchant and historian. He was the son of the prominent Bolognese painter, Giuseppe Maria Crespi. Biography He trained with his father and completed a few altarpie ...

notes Monti's attention to detail and the wide appeal of her work. He remarks that not only did local people of distinction desire to be portrayed in her portraits, but "intelligent or noble traveler in the area sought out her skills, as well. Monti's patrons ranged from ladies and gentlemen to monks, nuns, and merchants. She also painted portraits regularly for Brescia nobility.Storia pittorica della Italia
/ref> Crespi cites Monti's education, specifically her command of the French language, as an important aspect of her relationship with patrons. The painter

Giovanni Battista Zaist Giovanni Battista Zaist (Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cre ...

commissioned a painting of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

from her. According to Crespi, the Bishop of Brescia, Giovanni Molin, was also an avid supporter of her work. The mayor of Brescia, Piero Andrea Giovannelli, was also a patron. Monti was made an honorary member of the prestigious

in Bologna in 1767, a sign of her stature at a time when there were very few recognized women painters. She was one of the artists included in ''Felsina pittrice'',

's revision of

Carlo Cesare Malvasia Carlo Cesare Malvasia (18 December 16169 March 1693) was an Italian scholar and art historian from Bologna, best known for his biographies of Baroque artists titled ''Felsina pittrice'', published in 1678. Together with his contemporary Giovanni P ...

's book on the painters of Bologna. According to Amorini, Eleonora Monti died around the end of the eighteenth century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monti, Eleonora 1727 births Artists from the Papal States 18th-century Italian painters Artists from Bologna 18th-century Italian women painters