Caterina Ginnasi (1590 – 30 November 1660) was an Italian noblewoman and painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. Ginnasi was orphaned under a young age, and placed in the care of her uncle, Cardinal Domenico Ginnasi, who was the dean of the Holy College in Rome. He had arranged for her to marry a cousin, but she refused to consent and chose instead to remain single and dedicate herself to a spiritual and devotional life. Although she never became a nun she lived like one and was close friends with other Roman noblewomen nuns. When her talent was recognised, she started training under the painter Gaspare Celio, and then under Giovanni Lanfranco until 1634. Lanfranco had painted a Pentecost scene in oil on the ceiling of the gallery for Cardinal Ginnasi in the Palazzo Ginnasi b