Sorella artwork • painting • previously for sale Sorella in front of a shop window

Theresia Ansingh was the younger sister of Lizzy Ansingh, one of the Amsterdam Joffers. She came from an artistic family, with many artists, including her aunt, Thérèse Schwartze. In order to distinguish herself from Lizzy, Theresia painted under the name of ‘Sorella’, the Italian word for sister. Sorella was fifty years old when she started to paint: chiefly still lifes, self-portraits and portraits of literary and historical figures. She created compositions of fantasy and wonder, where things seem to take on a life of their own. Painted in a naïve and poetic style, they reflect her sensitive and intense view on the world.