Growing up as an artist, Frida Kahlo was my first heroine. I was captivated by her personality, her style, and the fearlessness behind her work. But as my artistic skills developed, I found myself searching for inspiration in painters who worked within my favorite movements: the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
It took time, but eventually I discovered Artemisia Gentileschi. An Italian painter from the 1600s whose brilliance was largely erased from art history simply because she was a woman.
Born on July 8, 1593, in Rome, Artemisia was trained by her father, Orazio Gentileschi. Yet she quickly surpassed him, forging a bold artistic identity of her own. Despite her immense talent, many of her paintings were misattributed to her father or other male contemporaries. The result of deep-rooted sexism in both the art world and academia.
Artemisia’s name resurfaced in 1916, when scholar Roberto Longhi mentioned her in his research on Caravaggio. At 19 years old, Artemisia, inspired by her own personal trauma, painted her own version of Judith Slaying Holofernes. A work that rivals Caravaggio’s in beauty and technique.
Still, her recognition remained limited until the rise of the 1970s feminist movement. When art historian Linda Nochlin brought her story to light in the now-iconic essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” A must-read for any female artist or art historian.
Artemisia’s works hold great importance to me—not only because she was a woman who defied expectations, but because she mastered a craft that few artists, regardless of gender, were able to make a living from. Her determination and success remind me of how rare and powerful it is to turn passion into a profession.
Throughout her career, Artemisia worked for some of the most powerful figures of her time — the Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici, the Grand Duchess Christina of Lorraine, King Philip IV of Spain, and King Charles I. She also accepted commissions from lesser-known patrons, from cardinals to princes, which made her career both lucrative and widely admired.
But after her death, her legacy and skill went unrecognized for centuries. Thankfully, because of the patrons she worked for — and more importantly, the power of her own skill — her name couldn’t stay forgotten forever. Now, a new generation of artists like myself has another heroine to look up to. I hope that in time, more women artists will come to light the way Artemisia did, because I know she wasn’t the only one whose story was temporarily erased.
-Courtney C.