Self-Portrait (Artemisia Gentileschi)

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Self Portrait, Artemisia Gentileschi, 1630s, Palazzo Barberini, Rome Gentileschi-autoretratBarberini.jpg
Self Portrait, Artemisia Gentileschi, 1630s, Palazzo Barberini, Rome

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.

Contents

Attribution

The painting is generally accepted as being by Gentileschi but there have been some doubts cast. It was included in the catalogue raisonné by Raymond Ward Bissell, [1] but the 2001 exhibition catalogue on the Artemisia and her father Orazio considers it to be done by the workshop of Simon Vouet. [2] Later investigations have fallen firmly on the side of the painting being by Artemisia Gentileschi. In particular, Jesse M. Locker points to the similar clothing used, as well as the treatment of lace, used in other Artemisia paintings to make this decision. [3]

Quality

The painting is in a poor condition. Locker notes that it "is poorly preserved, leaving the flesh tones, particularly in the face abraded and badly deteriorated", [3] despite the efforts of a restoration in the 1950s. [1]

History

There is very little detail on the provenance of the painting. The earliest it can be traced with any certainty is to 1935, when the collection of Palazzo Barberini entered the governmental Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. [3]

Content

It is assumed that the sitter in the painting is the patron that commissioned it, but there is no evidence to support any clear identification. Artemisia's pose has led art historians to see the painting as a direct challenge to a viewer. Mary Garrard has interpreted this in the context of Artemisia's gender, i.e. a challenge to male artists of the time. This contention is made based on the shape of the painting hand, as this gesture in the 17th century represented a "challenge advanced by those confident in the strength of their abilities." [4] Locker continues the idea of the painting as a challenge, but situates it in the context of the literary and poetic culture of the times, where Gentileschi is challenging poets, "whose spoken paintings ... cannot rival her painted poems." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<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.

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>Judith and Her Maidservant</i> (Detroit) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Judith and Her Maidservant is one of four paintings by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi that depicts the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes. This particular work, executed in about 1623 to 1625, now hangs in the Detroit Institute of Arts. The narrative is taken from the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, in which Judith seduces and then murders the general Holofernes. This precise moment illustrates the maidservant Abra wrapping the severed head in a bag, moments after the murder, while Judith keeps watch. The other three paintings are now shown in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and the Musée de la Castre in Cannes.

<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>Saint Cecilia</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Santa Cecilia is an early painting, from c. 1620, by the Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, a painter described as "a grand exception in the history of art - a successful woman painter in an era in which art was dominated by men."

<i>Mary Magdalene</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Penitent Magdalene is a 1616–1618 painting by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. This painting hangs in the Pitti Palace in Florence. The subject is the biblical figure Mary Magdalene, but the painting references another biblical woman, Mary, the sister of Lazarus. This painting was likely painted during Gentileschi's Florentine period.

<i>Saint Catherine of Alexandria</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Saint Catherine of Alexandra is a painting by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It is in the collection of the Uffizi, Florence. Gentileschi likely used the same cartoon or preparatory drawing to create both this painting and the Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (1615–1617), now in the National Gallery, London.

<i>Allegory of Painting</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting first attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi

The Allegory of Painting is an painting from around the 1640s attributed in 1988 to the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, although more recent research suggests it was painted by an anonymous Neapolitan painter in the mid-17th century. It is now in the Musee de Tesse, Le Mans, France.

<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>Penitent Magdalene</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Penitent Magdalene is a painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It hangs in Seville Cathedral. It has probably been in the cathedral since the late 17th century. She returned to the subject later in the 1620s in Mary Magdalene as Melancholy.

<i>Judith and her Maidservant</i> (Gentileschi, Cannes) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Judith and Her Maidservant is a painting by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Executed sometime between 1640 and 1645, it hangs in the Musée de la Castre in Cannes.

<i>Lucretia</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi, Milan) Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Lucretia is a painting by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It depicts Lucretia, the wife of Roman consul and general Collatinus, at the moment of her suicide. The decision to take her own life was made after she was blackmailed and raped by Sextus Tarquinius, a fellow soldier of Collatinus. It is one of a number of paintings of Gentileschi that focus on virtuous women ill-treated by men.

<i>The Birth of Saint John the Baptist</i> (Artemisia Gentileschi)

The Birth of Saint John the Baptist, by Artemisia Gentileschi, was part of a six-painting portrayal of Saint John's life, with four of the paintings by Massimo Stanzione and one by Paolo Finoglia, for the Hermitage of San Juan Bautista on the grounds of Buen Rierto in Madrid, under orders from the Viceroy of Naples, the Conde de Monterrey. Although a date has not been agreed upon by scholars, Artemesia most likely painted The Birth of Saint John the Baptist between 1633 and 1635. It is one of the most renowned works from Artemisia's Naples period, especially due to its detailed rendering of fabrics and floor tiles.

Allegory of Inclination is a 1615-1617 oil on canvas painting by Artemisia Gentileschi on the ceiling of the Galleria in the Casa Buonarroti, in Florence. The painting depicts a young nude female seated in the heavens holding a compass. Her light-colored hair is elaborately styled and she is partially covered by swirling drapery. A star appears above her head.

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

Aurora is a c.1625-1627 painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi, depicting the Roman goddess of dawn. It is part of a private collection in Rome.

References

  1. 1 2 Bissell, R. Ward (1999-01-01). Artemisia Gentileschi and the authority of art: critical reading and catalogue raisonné. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN   0271017872. OCLC   38010691.
  2. Christiansen, Keith; Mann, Judith Walker (2001). Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi. New York; New Haven: Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Yale University Press. p. 418. ISBN   1588390063.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Locker, Jesse M. (2015). Artemisia Gentileschi: The Language of Painting. New Haven, Yale University Press. pp. 147–57. ISBN   9780300185119.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Garrard, Mary D. (2005). "Artemisia's Hand". In Bal, Mieke (ed.). The Artemisia Files. The University of Chicago Press. p. 28. ISBN   0226035816.