'Artemisia' reopening from 2 December to 24 January 2021
Location: Sainsbury Wing
"I will show Your Illustrious Lordship what a woman can do"
Artemisia Gentileschi, 'Self Portrait as a Lute Player', about 1615-18. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT Charles H. Schwartz Endowment Fund 2014.4.1 ©️ Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
In 17th-century Europe, at a time when women artists were not easily accepted, Artemisia was exceptional. She challenged conventions and defied expectations to become a successful artist and one of the greatest storytellers of her time.
Artemisia painted subjects that were traditionally the preserve of male artists and for the male gaze; transforming meek maidservants into courageous conspirators and victims into survivors.
In this first major exhibition of Artemisia’s work in the UK, see her best-known paintings including two versions of her iconic and viscerally violent ‘Judith beheading Holofernes’; as well as her self portraits, heroines from history and the Bible, and recently discovered personal letters, seen in the UK for the first time.
Follow in Artemisia’s footsteps from Rome to Florence, Venice, Naples and London. Hear her voice from her letters, and see the world through her eyes.
