Contents
Artemisia Gentileschi
Painting forceful Baroque heroines such as Judith.
Judith Slaying Holofernes · Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
- Born
- 8 July 1593
- Birthplace
- Rome, Italy
More people
Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter known for dramatically staged biblical and historical scenes. She sustained an international career in a profession largely closed to women. She died in or after 1654; the exact date is uncertain.
Early life
Artist’s household
Trained in Rome with her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi.
Early ability
Her signed Susanna and the Elders dates to 1610, when she was still a teenager.
Career
- 1613–1620
Florence career
Developed an independent practice and attracted courtly patrons.
- 1616
Academy membership
Became the first woman admitted to Florence’s Accademia delle Arti del Disegno.
- 1630s
Naples studio
Established a base in Naples and took on substantial commissions.
- 1638–1640
English court
Worked in London, where her father was serving Charles I.
Selected work
Judith Slaying Holofernes
A physically intense treatment of the biblical killing, revisited in a later version.
Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine
Painted herself in the guise of a learned Christian martyr.
Allegory of Painting
United a self-portrait with the personification of her profession.
Beyond work
Trial records
Her testimony in the 1612 trial of Agostino Tassi documents the rape she survived.
Rediscovered work
Later scholarship and exhibitions restored attention to her paintings beyond the story of the trial.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Artemisia Gentileschi. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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