Juana Romani

Born in Villetri in Itallie (1869), near Rome. Her name is Juana Romaine

 Born in rural Italy and living in Paris since the age of ten, she quickly became a popular model for renowned painters and sculptors. At the age of nineteen, she finally gave up modeling to devote herself completely to her art. The young woman can be considered one of the best students of Henner and Roybet. Influenced by the former, she nonetheless managed to distance herself from her masters by placing great value on the description of luxurious, shimmering fabrics.

She exhibited regularly at the Salon de la Société des artistes français from 1888 to 1904. In just a few years, Juana Romani had established herself as the portraitist of the rich Parisian. She produced effigies of Princess Joachim Murat, the Duchess of Palmella, the Comtesse de Briche and others. She also painted figures of young girls from the Bible or mythology, framed at mid-body, seductive, adorned and richly dressed.

These timeless portraits create a magical, mysterious atmosphere, sometimes theatrical, reminiscent of certain Pre-Raphaelite works.

She took the pseudonym “Joanna”, which became “Joan” for the French, in memory of Joan of Arc