Capitolium Art's Old Masters auction features Elisabetta Sirani and Luca Giordano

Capitolium Art's Old Masters auction on June 9, 2026, in Brescia features a rare early work by Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665), painted when she was fifteen. The oil portrait of the Virgin, estimated at €20,000-30,000, is authenticated by scholar Adelina Modesti as an autograph work from Sirani's adolescence. The auction also includes a major Luca Giordano canvas, 'Alexander the Great and Diogenes' (est. €50,000-80,000), from his transitional phase between Riberesque Caravaggism and Venetian-inspired style. A notable ivory map of the Kingdom of Naples from 1593, bearing the coat of arms of Philip II, is also offered. The sale spans two days: June 9 for Old Masters and antiques, June 10 for 19th-century paintings and sculpture. Sirani, a child prodigy who ran her father's workshop and founded Europe's first school of female painting, produced over 200 works in her brief career. Giordano, known as 'Luca Fa Presto' for his speed, had a fifty-year career across Naples, Madrid, Florence, Venice, and Rome.