Portrait of Sister Febroniae Ansalone

Print

-

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

Portrait of Sister Febroniae Ansalone

Entry/Object ID

2021.05.03

Description

Black and white print of nun holding a cross with an angel holding a thorn crown. Inscription in Italian.

Type of Print

Engraving

Artwork Details

Medium

ink, Paper

Acquisition

Accession

2021.05

Source or Donor

Art Museum of Greater Lafayette

Acquisition Method

Gift

Source (if not Accessioned)

Art Museum of Greater Lafayette

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Secondo Bianchi

Role

Print Maker

Artist

Giovanni Micocchi

Attribution

After a painting by

Role

Painter

Date made

1790

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Print

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Graphic Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

10-1/4 in

Width

7-1/4 in

Dimension Notes

Paper backing print is attached to not included in measurement.

Color

Black, White

Provenance

Provenance Detail

Source Notes

Role

Information provided by source.

Notes

Acquired by the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette in 1979 {1}; donated to Purdue University Galleries in 2021 {1} based on accession number

Copyright

Type of License

None

Copyright Holder

Purdue University Galleries

Restrictions

In the public domain.

Exhibition

Legacy of Gifting: Donations from the Lafayette Art Museum (2023)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Exhibition label

Label

Secondo Bianchi (active 19th century), Italian After Giovanni Micocchi (1763-1825), Italian Sister Febronia Ansalone, ca. 1790 Ink and paper engraving 2021.05.03 This intimate portrait is of the Franciscan nun Sister Febronia Ansalone (1656-1718). Sister Febronia was a member of the St. Clare Monastery in Palermo. She was a mystic and prolific writer, producing six volumes called the Contemplazioni. Here she is shown in her habit, holding a cross while a small angel offers her Jesus’s crown of thrones. This print was commissioned by the Archbishop of Palermo Francesco Ferdinando Sanseverino (1723-1793) likely to commemorate Sister Febronia being labeled Venerable, a step towards sainthood in the Catholic Church, by Pope Pius VI in 1793. Like the image of St. Roch, this is not meant to be a true portrait, but rather a type that would be recognizable to the faithful.