SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY SIRENS: Portraits of Two Italian Musicians with Mark Shepheard

Life was not easy for the female musician in 17th century Italy. Although musical ability was seen as a desirable accomplishment for the cultivated noblewoman, public performances by women brought associations of immorality; the female singer was often seen as a woman of low social standing, little better than a courtesan.

Two fascinating portraits from the 1640s (those of Barbara Strozzi and Leonora Baroni) present very different images of the female musician, each attempting in its own way to negotiate the equivocal status of woman as professional performer.

Mark Shepheard is completing his PhD in Art History at The University of Melbourne. He is on the editorial board of the journal emaj and is a director of the Melbourne Art Network. He is also a broadcaster for 3MBS FM, for which he produces ‘The Early Music Experience’ and ‘Recent Releases’.

Bernardo Strozzi (circa 1581-1644), Portrait of Barbara Strozzi, circa 1640, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden