Artemisia Gentileschi

Pretty Brilliant Women in the Arts

Article

No. 38 • June 2025

For generations, the story of art has been told through a singular lens. When the first editions of canonical texts like Janson’s History of Art and Gombrich’s The Story of Art were published, they featured zero women artists. The Pretty Brilliant: Women in the Arts series aims to make whole what has long been a one-sided story. In these issues, featuring 583 artists, we celebrate women who have always been creating, innovating, and inspiring, like Artemisia Gentileschi.

Fig 1. Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638-39, Royal Collection Trust, UK

text: Katherine de Zegher

Initially working in the style of Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi (Italy, 1593-1653) became one of the most accomplished Italian Baroque painters. She developed her own style, with many of her paintings featuring heroines from mythical, allegorical or biblical scenes – courageous and rebellious women that often appear to have been self-portraits.

Gentileschi was introduced to painting in her father’s workshop, Gentileschi showed early talent and embraced a boldly naturalistic style. She became a thriving court painter – enjoying the patronage of the House of Medici in Florence – and she was the first woman artist to be accepted into the Accademia di Arte del Disegno.

Artemisia Gentileschi

‘My illustrious lordship, I’ll show you what a woman can do.’

Fig 2. Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy, c. 1623-1625, oil on canvas, 81 x 105 cm, private collection

By 1620, she had relocated to Rome, where numerous patrons supported her work. Her career flourished, attracting an international clientele. A few years later, she moved to Venice and eventually settled in Naples, where she lived – aside from a journey to London and a few other travels – for the remainder of her career. Of Gentileschi’s Magdalene painting, a 19th-century critic noted: ‘No one would have imagined that it was the work of a woman. The brush work was bold and certain, and there was no sign of timidness.’