Fetti, Lucrina (fl. 1614–1651)

Italian painter. Name variations: Giustina Fetti. Born Lucrina or Giustina Fetti in Rome; birth and death dates unknown; sister of painter Domenico Fetti (1589–1623); entered Franciscan convent of Sant Orsola, Mantua, Italy, 1614.

Paintings:

Deposition; Adoration of the Shepherds; Adoration of the Magi; Annunciation; Crowning with Thorns; Visitation; Agony in the Garden; Margherita Gonzaga, duchess of Ferrara; Empress Eleanora I Gonzaga, wife of Emperor Ferdinand II; Eleanora II Gonzaga, wife of Emperor Ferdinand III; Caterina de' Medici, wife of Duke Ferdinando Gonzaga; St. Margaret; Mary Magdalene; St. Barbara (1619).

What little is known of Lucrina Fetti was recorded by Giovanni Baglione (c. 1573–1644), painter and biographer of 16th- and early 17th-century Roman artists. Referring to her as Domenico Fetti's "sister who likewise painted," Baglione noted that she was brought with her family to Mantua from Rome by Duke Ferdinando Gonzaga, ruler of the Mantuan court, who also provided money for her to enter the convent of Sant Orsola. As a painter and nun, Fetti created a body of religious work for the convent and its adjacent public church, as well as a group of state portraits of the distinguished women of the convent and the court of Mantua.

It was not until the second half of the 18th century that Fetti's paintings were identified, and only recently has she been singled out by critics as worthy of interest. (Questions remain regarding her dependence upon the style and collaboration of her brother, and some believe that Domenico not only taught her to paint, but retouched many of her paintings.) Of her religious works, six scenes (from a set of eight), depicting the lives of Mary the Virgin and Jesus Christ are housed at the Hospital of Mantua. Their quality suggests that they may be her earliest efforts or copies of them. A more developed style is seen in four life-size, full-length portraits of women, which reside in the Palazzo Ducale, Mantua. Although the portraits follow a conventional representation, they reveal a sensitivity and refinement in the modeling and textural differentiations. Fetti's St. Barbara (1619), which is currently part of an individual collection, is thought to be one of the best representations of her work. Although Domenico's lingering influence is apparent in this work, particularly in the Rubenesque fullness of the figure, Fetti's individual style makes itself known.

Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts