Allegory of Sculpture

This newly discovered canvas adds an intriguing work to the corpus of Artemisia Gentileschi. Her oeuvre, increasingly recognised for its importance in Western art history, often shows female figures as protagonists, as is the case here in this Allegory of Sculpture; it is a work that is both a reflection on, and celebration of, the very relationship between women and artistic creativity.

The attribution has been confirmed, independently, by Riccardo Lattuada and Francesca Baldassari, who both note the similarity in positioning of the figure’s head to that of Jael in Jael and Sisera, signed and dated 1620 (fig. 1; Budapest, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum). That work was probably made towards the end of Artemisia’s Florentine period, or at the beginning of her return to Rome; a similar date has been suggested for the present picture. Her time spent in the Tuscan city began shortly after the conclusion of the infamous trial of Agostino Tassi, when he was convicted of the rape of Artemisia. In the days after the case finished in November 1612, her father Orazio arranged for her to marry the Florentine painter, Pierantonio Stiattesi. The couple then moved to Florence where they would live until 1620: it was a fruitful time that would see Artemisia become an independent artist and enjoy prodigious professional success, patronised by Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici and the Grand Duchess Cristina. She was able to forge friendships with eminent personalities of science and culture such as Galileo Galilei and Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger. The latter commissioned a work for the Casa Buonarroti, the renowned Allegory of Inclination, executed between the end of 1615 and early 1616, one of a series of pictures made alongside works by other leading Florentine artists of the time. Her stature indeed had increased to such a degree that in 1616 she became the first female painter to be accepted as a member of the Accademia del Disegno. This formal recognition of her talent and vocation as an artist has particular resonance for the subject of this picture. It was a composition indeed that must have met with particular success, as another autograph version, of very similar dimensions, is recorded in a private collection, while a copy was sold at Sotheby’s, Milan, 17 January 2008, lot 65.

We are grateful to Maria Cristina Terzaghi for endorsing the attribution to Artemisia Gentileschi. This painting has been requested for the upcoming exhibition Orazio, Artemisia e Genova: La diffusione del caravaggismo nella Superba at Genoa, Palazzo Ducale, Appartamento del Doge, 15 November 2023-1 April 2024.