Artemisia Gentileschi: the spirit of Caesar in the soul of a woman
A new exhibition at Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli celebrates the distinctive output of a successful Renaissance artist who imbued her female subjects with strength and courage.
30/11/2022
Before she had even turned 20, Artemisia Gentileschi’s father Orazio, also a painter, penned a letter to a prospective patron in Florence, recommending her services. “My daughter has been painting for three years,” he wrote, “and she’s already capable of such works that many principal masters of this profession never arrive at.”
Orazio’s words undoubtedly came with a modicum of paternal bias and pride. However, so distinctive was the imagery Artemisia created throughout her career, and in such high regard is she held by curators and critics today, her father’s words seem to have been rooted in truth.
Born in Rome in 1593, she led an eventful, peripatetic life that included lengthy spells living and working in Florence, Venice, London and Naples. The years she spent in the last of those great cities are the subject of a new exhibition, Artemisia Gentileschi in Naples.
Featuring approximately 50 works, it is being staged, appropriately enough, at Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli, the museum of Intesa Sanpaolo banking group in Naples.
"The time that the artist spent in other places is perhaps better known than the time she spent in this city. However, as we found in putting this show together, Artemisia’s Neapolitan years are every bit as interesting."
Antonio Ernesto Denunzio, Deputy Director of Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli and co-curator of the exhibition
Before she had even turned 20, Artemisia Gentileschi’s father Orazio, also a painter, penned a letter to a prospective patron in Florence, recommending her services. “My daughter has been painting for three years,” he wrote, “and she’s already capable of such works that many principal masters of this profession never arrive at.”
Orazio’s words undoubtedly came with a modicum of paternal bias and pride. However, so distinctive was the imagery Artemisia created throughout her career, and in such high regard is she held by curators and critics today, her father’s words seem to have been rooted in truth.
Born in Rome in 1593, she led an eventful, peripatetic life that included lengthy spells living and working in Florence, Venice, London and Naples. The years she spent in the last of those great cities are the subject of a new exhibition, Artemisia Gentileschi in Naples.
Featuring approximately 50 works, it is being staged, appropriately enough, at Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli, the museum of Intesa Sanpaolo banking group in Naples.
"Gentileschi was a fine painter, but we want to avoid underlining her exceptionality, we prefer to look at her alongside her peers in Naples at that time, many of whom were interesting artists in their own right."
Giuseppe Porzio, the exhibition’s co-curator
Before she had even turned 20, Artemisia Gentileschi’s father Orazio, also a painter, penned a letter to a prospective patron in Florence, recommending her services. “My daughter has been painting for three years,” he wrote, “and she’s already capable of such works that many principal masters of this profession never arrive at.”
Orazio’s words undoubtedly came with a modicum of paternal bias and pride. However, so distinctive was the imagery Artemisia created throughout her career, and in such high regard is she held by curators and critics today, her father’s words seem to have been rooted in truth.
Born in Rome in 1593, she led an eventful, peripatetic life that included lengthy spells living and working in Florence, Venice, London and Naples. The years she spent in the last of those great cities are the subject of a new exhibition, Artemisia Gentileschi in Naples.
Featuring approximately 50 works, it is being staged, appropriately enough, at Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli, the museum of Intesa Sanpaolo banking group in Naples.
Artemisia Gentileschi v Neapole
Artemisia Gentileschi v Neapole
The exhibition will duly feature works by the likes of Massimo Stanzione, Paolo Finoglio, Francesco Guarino, Andrea Vaccaro and Annella de Rosa.
“Advancing knowledge of Italian painters is one of the key elements of Progetto Cultura, Intesa Sanpaolo’s long-term plan of promoting cultural enrichment as a lever for societal growth,” says Denunzio.
Perhaps the final word, though, should go to Artemisia herself. In 1649 she told a collector who thought she was charging him too much for a picture: “With me, Your Illustrious Lordship will not lose. [For] you will find the spirit of Caesar in the soul of a woman.”
Visitors to the Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli this winter will be able to judge for themselves how great that spirit was.
1. Artemisia Gentileschi Judith and her maidservant with the Holoferne's head, oil on canvas, Oslo, Nasjonalmuseet
2. Artemisia Gentileschi, Saint Procolo and Saint Nicea, oil on canvas, Pozzuoli, Basilica Cattedrale di San Procolo Martire
3. Artemisia Gentileschi Samson and Delilah oil on canvas Collezione Intesa Sanpaolo, Gallerie d'Italia, Napoli
4. Artemisia Gentileschi Saint Januarius and his companions thrown in the amphitheater taming the beasts, oil canvas, Pozzuoli
5. Madonna con il Bambino (Madonna del Rosario)
6. Artemisia Gentileschi Saint Catherine of Alexandria, oil on canvas Stoccolma, Nationalmuseum
