Elisabetta Sirani's Painting

ELISABETH SIRANI'S PORTIA WOUNDING HER THIGH (1664)

Is unique as the action is far from subtle but the justification and intention is much harder to find. When looking deeply at the scene, we are able to notice that the main character is the women named Portia in the from left portion of the piece. To clarify, I say front because this piece is split in to two dimensions, the front (on the left side) and the back (on the right side). The most important pert of this piece seems to be the wound on Portia's thigh up to the knife she's uses to stab. Being that it aligns with the center and it is shown along with a revealing aspect of her dress makes it alluring. Not only that but this is a serious subject matter which people will try to decipher right away. A huge question that people probably try to figure out right off the bat, after recognizing the wound, is what is the scene in the back room and how does it relate to this piece? There seem to be a few large men sitting around talking with a women, maybe a servant, helping them with something behind. It is very ambiguous however and even the details, a though valuable, fall into the shadows. As we are on the subject o details it is important to highlight the representation of Portia through her attire. She seems to be dressed in a beautiful gown with expensive jewelry and her hair don properly. The women in this painting are both dressed in red. This could be intended to parallel the blood dripping from her wound down her thigh. As one woman seems to be serving and one women seems to be taking a irrational action maybe the red is intended to inspire a negative emotion in this piece. However I fin it interesting that her facial expression is vey monotone, almost subtly pleased while she is also committing the moment of pain. The shadows and dimensions in this piece feel well done while the detail on each jewel and each garment is lovely and beautiful.