Anna Bacherini Piattoli

Anna Bacherini Piattoli earned her living from small things: portrait miniatures and pastels, made in Florence for patrons who wanted a likeness to keep close. Yet the Grand Duke of Tuscany thought enough of her to ask for her self-portrait, which entered the Uffizi's famous gallery of artists' self-portraits, where the great names hung their own faces.

Born in Florence in 1720, she trained with several local painters, among them Violante Beatrice Siries, one of the few women then working professionally at the Tuscan court. In 1741 she married the painter Gaetano Piattoli, and the household stayed in the trade, for their son Giuseppe became a painter too. Another son, Scipione, left art for the priesthood and went on to play a part in the reforms of the Polish Enlightenment.

Alongside her miniatures Anna painted deeply felt religious scenes and was valued as a teacher of other artists. Few of her works survive today, and many of those are worn and in need of restoration.