Lucrezia Quistelli della Mirandola

Lucrezia Quistelli was born on October 19 in 1538 in Florence, Italy. Quistelli was baptized in 1541. She is the daughter of Alfonso Quistelli and Giulia Santi. She was known for her paintings and studied under Alessandro Allori. Quistelli married Count Clemente Pietra and they had eight children, six daughters and two sons. She died in 1594, in Florence.[2]

The Quistellis' connection with famous artists and writers shaped Lucrezia’s education. In Lucrezia’s time in Florence, children of noblemen received a humanist education coupled with tutoring under Alessandro Allori, and other successful artists. Lucrezia had a possible academic relationship with her older brothers’ tutor, the Latinist Dionigi Lippi. Lippi wrote a letter to Lucrezia, praising her faith and purity. Aside from the instruction of Bronzino, Allori learned about literature from Silvano Razzi, a Camaldolese  writer and priest who worked alongside Giorgio Vasari [3] and was friends with Varchi[4]

In 1568, Pietra and Quistelli rented Florence’s Palazzo Pandolfini from the Salvati family. It was near the San Barnaba Church where Quistelli’s family is buried. Quistelli paid the bills and rent as well as managed some of Salvati's affairs.

She continued after the death of Clemente Pietra.Count Clemente was stabbed with a poison knife on February 9, 1574, and died on February 13, 1574. An author-less poem in Guiliano de’ Ricci’s Cronica details the assassination and the sorrow of Lucreiza. With the help of servants, she took care of her eight children. Her connections and late husband’s feudal ties allowed her children to marry into royalty, status,  or lead monastic lifestyles.[1]

The painting Mythical Marriage of Saint Catherine is the only surviving artwork of Lucrezia Quistelli. This is an altarpiece painting "The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine", an oil-on-canvas painting measuring 180x120 cm (c. 1576). This can be found at the Church of Santa Maria e San Pietro in Silvano Pietra.

This artwork was discovered as her painting due to the restoration process of cleaning. The painting was found covered in a thick layer of dirt and it was actively degrading. Experts from Gabbantichità Antiquariato Modernariato Restauri restored and cleaned this painting in 2015, discovering her signature L. Quistelli.[5]

Lucrezia Quistelli did not create art for money, however, there are some artworks that could possibly be hers. This is because of her training under Alessandro Allori.

Some attributed artworks are:

The Flagellation of Christ, oil on panel, c.1570-80, Florence San Barnaba

Lamentation over the Dead Christ, oil on lead alloy c.1560, 23x20 cm, London: The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtrauld Gallery.

Portrait of a Gentleman, Museo de Arte de Sāo Paulo

Vasari’s inclusion of Quistelli is found in his Life of Properzia de’ Rossi, along with the names of several other prominent women artists such as Sophonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana. She is also mentioned in Girolamo Tiraboschi’s 1785 treatise, Notizie de’Pittori, Scultori, Incisori, e Architetti. Tiraboschi laments the fact that no other news of her work has survived other than Vasari’s short mention of her.[6] However, one surviving altarpiece of hers can be found at the Church of Santa Maria e San Pietro in Silvano Pietra, "The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine", an oil-on-canvas painting measuring 180x120 cm (c. 1576).[7] A chapter on Lucrezia Quistelli, authored by Sheila Barker, will be in the forthcoming book, Women Artists in Early Modern Italy: Careers, Fame, and Collectors [Brepols, May 2016].