Giuseppina Anselmi Faina (turin 1818 - Florence 1872), Virgin In Prayer, 1839, Oil On Canvas

Giuseppina Anselmi Faina (Turin 1818 - Florence 1872)
Virgin in prayer, after Sassoferrato, 1839
Oil On Canvas
25 x 19.4 cm (frame)
32 x 26 cm (frame)
Bears a pen inscription on the reverse on the frame: Giussepina Anselmi of pine. (1839)
The director of Professor Biscarra.
Unsigned - Good overall condition - restorations.

Introduced to the study of drawing and painting by her father, Giuseppa Anselmi, from a very young age, Giuseppina Anselmi entered the private studio of Giambattista Biscarra, director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Turin. In 1832, at only fourteen years old, Giuseppina participated in the second public exhibition in Turin, held at the Valentino Castle. Having gained some recognition, in 1841 she executed two works commissioned by King Charles Albert for the renovated Galleria del Daniel in the Palazzo Reale in Turin: the Portrait of Eustachio Chappuis and the portrait of Attho, Bishop of Vercelli. In Turin, in 1842, she presented four oil paintings at the first exhibition of the Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts. That same year, she embarked on a major training trip to Florence and then Rome. In 1843, she was named an Academician of Merit by the Accademia dei Virtuosi at the Pantheon and later received a similar nomination from the Academies of Fine Arts of Florence and Perugia. She then married Count Claudio Faina of Orvieto, with whom she had three children between 1844 and 1851. Amidst a delicate political situation, and due to the political stances of her brothers-in-law in the 1850s, her artistic activity slowed. Relations with her husband deteriorated, and she returned to northern Italy, Giuseppina's maternal homeland. In 1871, she participated in the first national exhibition of works by women artists, held in Florence. She died in the same city in March 1872. The paintings of this artist are very rare and imbued with great sensitivity. The work we are presenting is an early piece, which she Executed at the age of twenty-one, while still training in Biscarra's workshop, as indicated by the inscription on the stretcher: Giuseppina Anselmi painted (this picture) (1839) under the direction of Professor Biscarra. This reworking of the Virgin in Prayer, a famous 17th-century painting by Sassoferrato, was likely part of the classic copying exercises for young painters. Giuseppina more than succeeded, delivering a striking work with vibrant colors. In 2016, the Claudio Faina Museum Foundation in Orvieto dedicated the exhibition of paintings, drawings, sketches, and documents entitled "Giuseppina Anselmi Faina" to Giuseppina Anselmi Faina, in the rooms of the historic Palazzo Faina on Piazza Duomo. Curated by Giuseppe M. Della Fina.