Clio, Muse of History (Pisa)

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Clio, Muse of History
Clio
Gentileschi, Artemisia - Clio - 1632.jpg
Artist Artemisia Gentileschi   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Year1632
Medium oil paint, canvas
Dimensions127.6 cm (50.2 in) × 97.5 cm (38.4 in)
Location Palazzo Blu

Clio, Muse of History is a painting by the baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. It was painted around 1632, just after Artemisia had moved to Naples. It currently hangs in the Palazzo Blu, Pisa. [1] The painting has been interpreted in relationship to Gentileschi's own career and self-image - "by including her signature in Clio's open book, Artemisia was quite literally writing herself into history". [2] [3] In stylistic terms, the painting demonstrates Gentileschi's borrowing from Venetian styles of painting where she "applied her colors in a free and more spontaneous fashion." [4]

Contents

Description

A woman is shown in three-quarter view, turned to her right looking over her left shoulder, eyes cast upwards. Her left hand rests on her hip, with her right hand resting on a trumpet perched on an open book. She wears a crown of leaves as well as a large pearl earring in her right ear. She wears a russet-coloured gown over a white chemise, covered with a blue mantle pinned with a brooch at the left shoulder. The space in which she stands is dark, with a light source from the left casting highlights on her face, chemise and the pages of the book.

The figure depicted is Clio, the Muse of History. Cesere Ripa's Iconologia, an important source book for artists of the time, stated that Clio should be depicted with a crown of laurels, a trumpet and an open book. [5] Traces of earlier painting underneath the surface suggest, but cannot definitively prove, that the earlier subject was that of Fame, another figure from Ripa's Iconologia. It was not uncommon for Gentileschi to reuse or alter course during the painting of a canvas. [2]

History

On the book on the left of the painting the date 1632 is inscribed, along with Artemisia's name (which is written in upper case) The name of "F. Rosier" is also recorded in the inscription. This is likely to be François de Rosières, a French nobleman and academic who had been in the service of the Duke of Guise, who, after a rift with Cardinal Richelieu, had fled his home country and was living in Italy at the time. [2] In a 1635 letter to Galileo Galilei, the artist mentions receiving payment for a work delivered to the Duke. [6]

Provenance

The work was most likely painted for Charles of Lorraine, 4th Duke of Guise. [7] Nothing is known of its whereabouts until it appeared at a London gallery in 1940. [7] It moved through several collections in Great Britain and New York before its sale in December 2004 to the present owners. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clio</span> Muse of history in Ancient Greek mythology

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemisia Gentileschi</span> Italian painter (1593 – c. 1656)

Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing professional work by the age of 15. In an era when women had few opportunities to pursue artistic training or work as professional artists, Gentileschi was the first woman to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence and she had an international clientele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orazio Gentileschi</span> 16th- and 17th-century Italian painter

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<i>Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, also known as Autoritratto in veste di Pittura or simply La Pittura, was painted by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. The oil-on-canvas painting measures 98.6 by 75.2 centimetres and was probably produced during Gentileschi's stay in England between 1638 and 1639. It was in the collection of Charles I and was returned to the Royal Collection at the Restoration (1660) and remains there. In 2015 it was put on display in the "Cumberland Gallery" in Hampton Court Palace.

This is an ongoing bibliography of work related to the Italian baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi.

<i>Self-Portrait as a Lute Player</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player is one of many self-portrait paintings made by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It was created between 1615 and 1617 for the Medici family in Florence. Today, it hangs in the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, US. It shows the artist posing as a lute player looking directly at the audience. The painting has symbolism in the headscarf and outfit that portray Gentileschi in a costume that resembles a Romani woman. Self-Portrait as a Lute Player has been interpreted as Gentileschi portraying herself as a knowledgeable musician, a self portrayal as a prostitute, and as a fictive expression of one aspect of her identity.

<i>Jael and Sisera</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Jael and Sisera is a painting by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, executed around 1620.

<i>Madonna and Child</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Madonna and Child is an early painting by the baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. It was painted around 1613, when Artemisia was around 20 years old. It currently hangs in the Galleria Spada in Rome.

<i>Self-Portrait as a Female Martyr</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as a Female Martyr, is also known as the Self-Portrait as a Martyr Saint. This painting was created by the Italian female artist, Artemisia Gentileschi. This self-portrait was made around 1615 depicting the artist herself as a martyr. It is one of two paintings by Gentileschi painted with oil on a wood panel. This self-portrait is currently in a private collection in the United States.

<i>Portrait of a Gonfaloniere</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

The Portrait of a Gonfaloniere is a painting by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It hangs in the Palazzo d'Accursio, Bologna. It is a portrait of an unknown gonfaloniere standing in full regalia and was painted in 1622. Mary D. Garrard has speculated that the man may be Pietro Gentile of Genoa.

<i>Susanna and the Elders</i> (Gentileschi, Stamford) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Susanna and the Elders is a painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It is signed with Gentileschi's name and the date of 1622. The painting is in the collection at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.

<i>Corisca and the Satyr</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Corisca and the Satyr was painted in the 1630s by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It currently hangs in a private collection.

<i>Susanna and the Elders</i> (Gentileschi, Bologna) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi and Onofrio Palumbo

Susanna and the Elders is a 1652 painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It currently hangs in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna. The painting, over two metres broad, was completed in collaboration with Gentileschi's pupil Onofrio Palumbo - documents relating to the sale of the painting mention a payment to Palumbo.

<i>Self-Portrait</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting generally accepted as being by Artemisia Gentileschi

The Self Portrait of Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi was painted in the early 1630s. It currently hangs in the Palazzo Barberini, Rome. It is one of many paintings where Gentileschi depicts herself. Beyond self-portraits, her allegorical and religious paintings often featured herself in different guises.

<i>Saint Januarius in the Amphitheatre at Pozzuoli</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Saint Januarius in the Amphitheatre at Pozzuoli is a 1635-1637 oil on canvas painting by Artemisia Gentileschi. The work shows the moment that the Christian martyr Januarius and his followers are thrown to a group of wild animals in the amphitheatre in Pozzuoli - however, they lick the saint's feet rather than attacking him and Januarius is unharmed.

<i>Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy is a painting by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It is in the Doge’s Palace in Venice.

<i>Portrait of a Lady Holding a Fan</i> Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Portrait of a Lady Holding a Fan is a painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Executed in the mid-1620s, it is part of the collection of The Sovereign Military Order of Malta. There is no firm idea who the sitter is, although some historians have wondered if the portrait is indeed a self-portrait. However, given the rich clothing and jewellery of the sitter, this is unlikely.

<i>Bathsheba</i> (Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Bathsheba is a 1636-37 painting by the Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, with contributions by Viviano Codazzi and Domenico Gargiulo. It shows the Hittite woman Bathsheba being washed and tended to by her servants. At the top left of the painting, King David sees her from his palace. It was one of seven versions from the story of Bathsheba that Gentileschi painted.

<i>Medea</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Medea is an oil painting by the Italian baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Medea was a figure from Greek mythology. In the Gentileschi painting Medea is depicted at the moment she kills her son.

<i>Christ and the Woman of Samaria</i> (Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Christ and the Woman of Samaria is a 1637 oil painting on canvas by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi, depicting a story from the New Testament. It was part of a private collection in Palermo, and is now in the public Palazzo Blu in Pisa.

References

  1. "Clio, la musa della storia, olio su tela". Palazzo Blu (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  2. 1 2 3 Whitlum-Cooper, Francesca (2020). Treves, Letizia (ed.). Artemisia. London: The National Gallery Company Ltd. p. 200. ISBN   978-1-85709-656-9. OCLC   1117638110.
  3. Garrard, Mary D. (2020). Artemisia Gentileschi and feminism in early modern Europe. London, UK. pp. 215–7. ISBN   978-1-78914-239-6. OCLC   1147832296.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Locker, Jesse (2015). Artemisia Gentileschi : the language of painting. New Haven. p. 117. ISBN   978-0-300-18511-9. OCLC   877369691.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Ripa, Cesare (1611). Iconologia (in Italian).
  6. Gentileschi, Artemisia, or 1653 (2011). Solinas, Francesco (ed.). Lettere di Artemisia : edizione critica e annotata con quarantatre documenti inediti (in Italian). Roma: De Luca. pp. 109–110. ISBN   9788865570524.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 3 "Immunity From Seizure: Artemisia" (PDF). The National Gallery, London.