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Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
Artemisia Gentileschi · Baroque & Dutch Golden Age
- Artist
- Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c. 1656)
- Date
- c. 1638–1639
- Dimensions
- 98.6 x 75.2 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Royal Collection, Hampton Court Palace, United Kingdom
In this self-portrait Artemisia Gentileschi shows herself as La Pittura, the personification of Painting, leaning towards an unseen canvas with a brush in one hand and a palette in the other. It was probably painted during her stay in London at the court of Charles I.
A closer look
Traditional guides to allegory described Painting as a beautiful woman with dishevelled hair, a gold chain with a mask pendant and a dress of shimmering colours. Artemisia includes all these attributes, but instead of posing calmly she shows the act of painting itself, her body twisted in a difficult, energetic pose. A male painter could not have represented himself as the female figure of Painting; Artemisia, as a woman, could, and turned the convention into a statement about her own art.
History of the painting
Artemisia painted the self-portrait in London around 1638–39, when she had come to join her father Orazio at the court of Charles I. The king, a great collector, owned the picture. After his execution in 1649 Parliament sold off the royal collection, and many works were scattered abroad; this one was recovered after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. It belongs to the Royal Collection and hangs at Hampton Court Palace, a rare example of a 17th-century woman artist's work owned by the British Crown since her own lifetime.
