Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 to about 1656) was the daughter of the painter Orazio Gentileschi, a friend and follower of Caravaggio. She trained in her father's studio in Rome, because women were not admitted to the usual apprenticeships, and became one of the most sought-after painters of her century.
Her career took her from Rome to Florence, back to Rome, to Venice, to Naples and to London. In Florence, on July 19, 1616, she became the first woman admitted to the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (the Academy of the Arts of Drawing), founded in 1563 as the first academy of art. Membership let her sign contracts and buy materials in her own name. Her patrons included the Medici family of Florence and King Charles I of England.
Key idea
Why it works
Looking closely: Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
Describe. A woman in a green dress leans toward an unseen canvas, brush raised in one hand and palette in the other. A gold chain with a small mask pendant hangs at her neck, and strands of her dark hair fall loose. Analyze. Her body makes a strong diagonal from the lower right to the raised arm at the upper left. Light falls on her face, arm and sleeve; the background is plain brown. The pose is hard to see in a mirror, which shows how much skill it took. Interpret. Cesare Ripa's Iconologia (1593), a handbook of symbols, described Painting as a woman with a gold chain and mask pendant and untidy hair. Gentileschi painted herself as that figure, so she is both the artist at work and Painting itself.
Worked example: Reading an allegory
- She holds a brush and palette and works at a canvas.
- She wears a gold chain with a mask, a sign of imitation, which handbooks gave to the figure of Painting.
- Her untidy hair matches the same handbook, which linked it to the artist's inspired, busy mind.
Answer: Her tools and her attributes (chain, mask, loose hair) match the traditional figure of Painting.
Common mistake