Painted idol
Elisa Brandani
1 painting in the series ▪ publishes as @elisa.brandani
Photograph published by @elisa.brandani on Instagram ▪ source
See the workElisa (Appetite) is close to repellent and completely compelling at once, and it ought not to work. That is the entire reason I could not leave it alone.
Who is Elisa Brandani?
Elisa Brandani is an Italian model and content creator. She has been posting on Instagram since 2019, and that is where most of her work is seen; she also publishes on X, TikTok and YouTube.
Her tattoos are central to her work. Alongside swimwear and lingerie photos she makes short videos: outfit changes, dance clips and costume pieces such as Spider-Man. In 2024 she made a dance video together with Alexis Mucci.
This summary is put together from publicly available sources and has not been checked with her. If something here is wrong or she would rather it were not here, write to the studio and it is corrected or removed.
Where you know her from
- 2019Starts her Instagram channelInstagram
- 2024Dance video with Alexis MucciInstagram
Painting Elisa Brandani in the studio
I wanted to know which of the two would win once it was in oil. Weeks later, neither had. The painting still holds both. That is not a resolution, but it is an honest result, and it is more than the photograph managed.
Days at a time over several weeks. No sketch, no target, no schedule. It stopped when I was finished with it.
Elisa Brandani paintings: what exists
Oil on stretched canvas, 100 x 80 cm, signed, one of one, from Painted Idols -- a series of oil portraits of women whose own image is their work. Painted from a photograph she published herself, and the painting credits it. A hand-signed print exists in a small edition that is never reprinted; the canvas stays one of a kind. The canvas was painted by hand from that photograph; what it became is the painter's doing, not hers.
What is still available, and at what price, is on the cards below.
“Something stops me. Then I have to deal with it.”
I wrote to Elisa Brandani about this painting, as I do to every woman in the series. Not every message gets an answer. If you are Elisa Brandani, or you made the photograph, and you would rather it were not shown here: write to the studio and it comes down. No explanation needed.
Works featuring Elisa Brandani
All canvases →
AppetiteElisa
100 × 80 cm
€950
AppetiteElisa: signed print on paper
100 × 80 cm
€35
Follow Elisa Brandani
Questions about the paintings of Elisa Brandani
Is a painting of Elisa Brandani for sale?
Yes. The one original painting of Elisa Brandani, Elisa (Appetite), is still available. It is one of one and will not be painted again.
How big are the paintings of Elisa Brandani?
Elisa (Appetite) is 100 × 80 cm. The signed prints are 100 × 80 cm.
Are there prints of the paintings of Elisa Brandani?
Yes. Elisa (Appetite) has a hand-signed print on paper, in an edition of 50: printed once, never reprinted.
Did Elisa Brandani pose for these paintings?
No. They are painted from photographs that Elisa Brandani published herself. She did not sit for them, and what the canvases became is the painter’s doing, not hers.
