Orsola Maddalena Caccia

Orsola Maddalena Caccia, born Theodora Caccia (1596–1676) was an Italian mannerist painter and Catholic nun. She painted religious images, altarpieces, and still lifes.

Biography The daughter of painter Guglielmo Caccia and Laura Olivia, she was baptized Theodora Orsola on December 4, 1596. In 1620, she entered the Ursulines convent at Bianzè, where she changed her name to Orsola Maddalena after she took her vows. At the time, Bianzé was a fortified outpost on the frontier between the lands of the Gonzaga, the dukes of Mantua and Monferrato, and the duchy of Savoy and was often in the path of warring armies. Before his death, he had fostered painting as a vocation for the Ursulines of Moncalvo. Later in her life, Orsola became the abbess of the convent. In comparison to her many altarpieces and religious paintings, Sister Orsola created few still life works.

One of the other more well-known art pieces was St. Luke the Evangelist in the Studio, which showed St. Luke in his studio, painting the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. It is a busy scene showing St. Luke not just as a painter but also a sculptor; this being a reference to the tradition of Luke having produced a 'visual representation' of Mary's life.. The bookshelf behind him shows an ox and angels to represent aspects of Luke's supposed character and his writings, and the flowers by Mary and the portrait of a town represent her 'origin and virtue'.

In May 2020, Still life of Birds... was auctioned by Sotheby's, with an estimate of US$12,000-18,000, selling for $260,000, beating the artist's previous auction record of £28,145 for Vases of Flowers on a Table at Dorotheum, Vienna, in 2016.

In 2020, three works were bequeathed by Errol Rudman to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, making the museum the largest repository of her works outside of Moncalvo.

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