Artemisia Gentileschi's Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (around 1620-25) © Photo: Dominique Provost Art Photography – Bruges
The Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654 or later) is the subject of an eagerly awaited exhibition opening at Londons National Gallery this weekend (3 October-24 January 2021). It will be the first major survey on the artist to take place in the UK and will include around 30 works, including the museums recently acquired Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (around 1615-17) as well as key loans such as Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (around 1620-25) and two versions of Judith beheading Holofernes (around 1612-13 and around 1613-14). The exhibition will also include the artists personal correspondence and—displayed in public for the first time—the original transcript from the trial in which the artist Agostino Tassi was charged with the rape of Artemisia.
Artemisia Gentileschi's Self Portrait as a Female Martyr (around 1613-14) Private collection © Photo courtesy of the owner
The exhibition catalogue includes an essay on Artemisias letters—many of which were translated into English for the first time—and a “particularly enlightening [essay] on Artemisias painting technique, which sets out the parameters for considering questions of style, chronology and attribution,” says Letizia Treves, the exhibitions curator. Treves, who is the National Gallerys curator of later Italian, Spanish and French 17th-century paintings, has selected five key books for anyone wanting to learn all about Artemisia.
Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art: Critical Reading and Catalogue Raisonné
Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art: Critical Reading and Catalogue Raisonné (1999) by Raymond Ward Bissell
“This comprehensive catalogue raisonné by the late Raymond Ward Bissell is an exemplary work of scholarship. In the 20 years since its publication, there have been significant discoveries relating to Artemisias biography; new paintings have come to light while others have been removed from her corpus. But Bissells detailed research and perceptive texts make this a key starting point for anyone wanting to study the work of Artemisia.”
Artemisia Gentileschi (Lives of the Artists)
Artemisia Gentileschi (Lives of the Artists) (2020) by Jonathan Jones
“The Guardians critic and art historian Jonathan Jones explores Artemisias life and career in this highly readable 144-page book. More up to date than Alexandra Lapierres engaging novel Artemisia: A Novel (2000, trans. L. Heron), Joness account is no less lively. The authors enthusiasm for his subject is most palpable in the highly evocative passages about Artemisias paintings. The reproductions are rather small (and in one case the wrong painting is illustrated), so I would recommend reading with decent-sized images to hand, such as Artemisia Gentileschi (2017) by Alessandro Grassi.
Artemisia Gentileschi and Feminism in Early Modern Europe
Artemisia Gentileschi and Feminism in Early Modern Europe (2020) by Mary D. Garrard
“No in-depth study of Artemisias artistic achievements can ignore the fact that Artemisia was a woman in a mans world. Placing Artemisias life and work in the context of early modern feminism, Garrards handy-sized book builds on her ground-breaking study Artemisia Gentileschi: The Image of the Female Hero in Italian Baroque Art (1989). Although I dont always concur with Garrards views—the extent to which Artemisia may have contributed to the ceiling paintings for the Queens House at Greenwich, for example—her feminist perspective frequently offers considerable food for thought.”
I Know What I am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi
