Violante Ferroni

Violante Ferroni (born August 19, 1720) was a baroque painter from Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. She was a very successful woman for her time, creating two large commissions for the San Giovanni di Dio Hospital in Florence.

Education At the age of 16, Ferroni was admitted to the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno. Beyond the academy, Ferroni had three teachers who were prominent within the art world of the time: Violante Siries Cerroti, Giovanni Domenico Ferretti, and Vincenzo Meucci.

Artwork San Giovanni Di Dio Hospital Ferroni was awarded a commission of two 8 by 11.5 feet oval paintings for the atrium of the San Giovanni Di Dio Hospital in the mid-1700s. Ferroni's monumental paintings were installed at the top of the double staircase that adorned the main entry to the hospital. Then they applied strips of fabric around the painting's border and stretched the painting and new fabric over a new stretcher to preserve the original canvas from further damage. Pictorial reintegration was the next phase, where the conservators filled flaking paint mirroring the surrounding technique. Lastly, varnish was applied before returning the paintings to their rightful home in the atrium of the San Giovanni Di Dio Hospital. The restoration was completed in 2020.

Other artwork Ferroni created many other paintings that have now been lost to history. Her work was exhibited in the Academy of San Luca in 1737 and 1776, as well as at the Uffizi Gallery. The pieces were reported to be a copy of a Luca Giordano, a copy of a Guido Reni, and a copy of the Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew by Giovanni Domenico Ferretti.