One rainy day in February 1615 an elaborate performance took place in the Pitti Palace, called“ Dance of the Gypsy Women,” written by Francesca Caccini. A certain“ Sig. ra Artemisia” was one of the gypsy women. Evidence, too detailed to recount here, strongly suggests that the actor in the self-portrait was not a courtesan, as has been suggested, but herself attired as the gypsy in the performance in which she had taken part. 13 Interestingly, Artemisia’ s left hand forms a real chord on the lute: the E flat 7 chord. 14
Artemisia Gentileschi( 1593-1653)
The most famous of Artemisia’ s self-portraits, this is probably the most written about and best documented. Her true hair color was auburn and she would have changed it to black here to fit standard iconography for the allegory of painting:“ A beautiful woman with black hair.”
But how do we know what the real Artemisia Gentileschi looked like? Male admirers in her time thought she not only painted beautifully but also was herself a great beauty. She painted a number of self-portraits, some for patrons. Scholars have considered that she used her own likeness for female protagonists in other paintings. Three depictions of her facial features by other artists are pertinent here: an engraving after a lost self-portrait, a bronze medal in profile, and a very recently discovered portrait by Simon Vouet of Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi( Lomi is the Tuscan family name she used while in Florence).
Readers can compare the several“ self-portraits” figured here and decide for themselves. As for me, I admire the woman I think I’ ve begun to meet as an artist among artists: highly skilled in her craft, innovative, ambitious and competitive yet also collaborative among her peers, highly intelligent, multifaceted, with wit and a lively personality— in short, to borrow from W. B. Yeats,“ the pilgrim soul” in her.
Artemisia Gentileschi( 1593-1653) Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
1638-1639 oil on canvas 39 x 29 1 / 2”
Royal Collection, United Kingdom
( Endnotes)
1 Keith Christiansen and Judith W. Mann. Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi. Yale University Press; 2001. 2 Judith W. Mann, ed. Artemisia Gentileschi: Taking Stock. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers; 2005. 3 Sheila Barker, ed. Artemisia Gentileschi in a Changing Light, London; Turnhout Harvey Mille 4 Mary D. Garrard.“ Identifying Artemisia: The Archive and the Eye” in Changing Light, p. 13. 5“ A new document concerning Artemisia Gentileschi’ s marriage.” The Burlington Magazine, CLVI, December; 2014, pp. 803-804. 6 Sheila Barker.“ Artemisia’ s Money: The Entrepreneurship of a Woman Artist in Seventeenth-Century Florence,” In Changing Light, pp. 59-88. 7 Ibid. See the section entitled“ Luxurious Living as a Business Strategy,” pp. 65-66. 8 Of course it is also clear that Artemisia loved and excelled at painting exquisite fabrics and draperies, as did her father, which is one reason I derive inspiration from the Gentileschi. 9 Ibid. p. 65. 10 Ibid. And note 78, p. 85. 11 Jesse Locker.“ Artemisia Gentileschi: The Literary Formation of an Unlearned Artist” in ed. Sheila Barker. Artemisia Gentileschi in a Changing Light, London; Turnhout Harvey Mille;
2017 pp. 89-101. 12 Ibid. pp. 90-91. 13 Jesse M. Locker. Artemisia Gentileschi: The Language of Painting. Yale University Press; 2015. pp. 136-142. 14 Richard Savino. Personal communication. Also see El Mundo: What Artemisia Heard: Music and Art from the Time of Caravaggio and Gentileschi, directed by Richard Savino. This music CD contains period performances of music from the cities in which Artemisia lived, including works by Francesca Caccini.
40 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE