Art Chowder July | August 2018, Issue 16 | Page 37

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653)
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653)
Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy
ca. 1620-1625
oil on canvas
32 x 41 1/4”
private collection
A
s for the “problem” of indebtedness, the practical
Florentine economy had a long established “culture of
credit,” which the artist and her husband took advantage
of in order to set up her workshop and further her
career in the Tuscan capital. Far from being fiscally
irresponsible, as Sheila Barker points out, Artemisia
proved to be a savvy businesswoman. By buying goods
and services on credit instead of borrowing from a bank
she obtained what amounted to interest-free business
loans. Additionally, by prioritizing some payments and
by allowing other debts to be adjudicated in court the
amount owed could end up being reduced!
Only discovered in 2011, the painting sold at Sotheby’s, Paris in
2014 for $1.2 million, the first Artemisia to pass the million dol-
lar mark. It is also the first Artemisia to receive scientific pigment
and media analysis.
Artemisia’s entry into Florentine artistic-economic
society depended in large degree upon access to the
court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, for which her
father Orazio had already sent a letter of introduction
to the Grand Duchess dated July 3, 1612, with an offer
of a sample of his daughter’s work (this was before
the outcome of the rape trial). But to make headway
in the opulent circles she had to impress, she needed
to dress and act the part. While it is easy to understand
why some would take Artemisia’s propensity to spend
lavishly on luxury items as excessive, there was method
to her madness; acquiring expensive dresses was a well-
calculated business investme nt. 7
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