Creator story
Surprising fact
As a teenager Artemisia was raped by her tutor and testified under torture at the trial; her ferocious Judith Slaying Holofernes is often read through that ordeal.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaBaroque
Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656) was the most celebrated woman painter of the Baroque era, a follower of Caravaggio known for powerful, dramatic heroines. She built an international career at a time when few women could even train as artists.
Long overshadowed, Gentileschi is now recognised as a major Baroque master and a feminist icon of art history.
- First woman admitted to Florence's Accademia delle Arti del Disegno.
- Painted fierce biblical heroines like Judith with unmatched intensity.
- Built an international career across Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples and London.
Key works
A key work by Artemisia Gentileschi
These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.
1613
Judith Slaying Holofernes
The beheading of Holofernes by Judith is recounted in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.