Caterina Ginnasi

Caterina Ginnasi (1590 – 30 November 1660) was an Italian noblewoman and painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.

Ginnasi was orphaned under a young age, and placed in the care of her uncle, Cardinal Domenico Ginnasi, who was the dean of the Holy College in Rome. He had arranged for her to marry a cousin, but she refused to consent and chose instead to remain single and dedicate herself to a spiritual and devotional life. Although she never became a nun she lived like one and was close friends with other Roman noblewomen nuns. Lanfranco had painted a Pentecost scene in oil on the ceiling of the gallery for Cardinal Ginnasi in the Palazzo Ginnasi between 1629 and 1632.

Career as an artist

Caterina was the only woman included in Giovanni Battista Passeri's biography of contemporary artists and was one of a few women to become a member of the Accademia di San Luca. however, in 1938 this church and convent were torn down during enlargement of the Via delle Botteghe Oscure.