A Space of Their Own

A nude woman sits on a bench, with just a white cloth draped around one thigh. Behind the bench, two men lean over the edge to spy on and harass her. One man whispers into the others ear as though they are conspiring. The young woman recoils, her body twisted in distress with both of her hands up as though she is trying to get away from them.

Susanna and the Elders

1610
Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, 1610. Oil on canvas, 170 x 119 cm. Schloss Weißenstein, Pommersfelden.
Schloss Weißenstein, Pommersfelden.

Two women look off past the right edge of the canvas. They appear in half-length, and one woman faces us, holding a sword over her shoulder. She grips the shoulder of the other woman with her left hand. That woman wears a yellow dress and white head covering has her back to us and holds a basket to the side. Inside the basket is the bloodied head of a man.

Judith and her Maidservant

1613-14
Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and her Maidservant, 1613–14. Oil on canvas, 114 x 93.5 cm. Palazzo Pitti, Florence.
Palazzo Pitti, Florence

A man lays sleeping on his side, his head rests in his arms. A young woman kneels over him, with a tent peg held to his temple with her left hand. In her right arm, she holds a hammer up high, poised to smash onto the peg and into his skull, killing him. They are dressed in classical costumes and an inscription on the column in the background identifies the artist. The woman seems unaware of the viewer and seems calm, at peace with the violence that is to follow.

Jael and Sisera

1620
Artemisia Gentileschi, Jael and Sisera, 1620. Oil on canvas, 86 x 125 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

A half-length image of a woman, holding a palette in one hand and a brush in another. She turns half away from the viewer, reaching to touch her brush to unseen canvas. She wears a dress with green sleeves and a pendant on a long gold chain around her neck. Her dark hair is pulled back away from her face, and she appears to be unaware of the viewer. The background is neutral, with no clear sense of setting.

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting

c. 1638–1639
Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, c. 1638–1639. Oil on canvas, 98.6 x 75 cm. Royal Collection Trust, United Kingdom.
Royal Collection Trust, United Kingdom

A nude woman reclines on a bed made with white sheets and a red velvet cover. She has one arm up behind her head and the other resting on her thigh, with her eyes closed. Behind her, a woman in a blue dress with a white chemise and head covering lifts up her skirt to catch gold coins that fall from above onto Danaë.

Danaë

ca. 1612
Artemisia Gentileschi, Danaë, ca. 1612. Oil on canvas, 41.3 x 52.7 cm. Saint Louis Art Museum.
Saint Louis Art Museum

Three figures are centered on the canvas. A man on his back in a bed tries to fight back, kicking his legs and pushing a young woman in a blue dress and white head covering that is holding him down. Another woman in a yellow dress is cutting off his head with a sword. Blood is streaming down the bed and spraying from his neck. The man looks anguished and surprised while the woman in the yellow dress looks determined. Her sleeves are pushed up past her elbows as she completes her task.

Judith Beheading Holofernes

ca. 1614–1620
Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Beheading Holofernes, ca. 1614–1620. Oil on canvas, 199 x 162 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player

ca. 1615–1618
Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as a Lute Player, ca. 1615–1618. Oil on canvas, 77.5 x 71.8 cm. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

The artist presents herself as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, wearing a red gown with gold embellishments and an ornate gold crown. She appears in half-length, slightly turned and looking away from the viewer. In one hand she holds the martyr’s palm frond and in the other, a broken spiked wheel that symbolizes her martyrdom.

Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria

ca. 1618–19
Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, ca. 1618–19. Oil on canvas, 77 x 62 cm. National Gallery, London.
National Gallery, London

Esther before Ahasuerus

ca. 1620s
Artemisia Gentileschi, Esther before Ahasuerus, ca.1620s. Oil on canvas, 208.3 x 273.7 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two women appear in candlelight, their faces partially obscured. The younger woman, in yellow, hold a sword in one hand and holds the other hand up as thought to say “stop.” The older woman crouches down, wearing a purple dress and a white head covering. She uses a cloth to wrap the bloodied head of a man, which has been violently separated from its body. A red velvet cloth is draped behind them, heightening the drama of the moment.

Judith and her Maidservant with Head of Holofernes

ca. 1623–25
Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and her Maidservant with Head of Holofernes, ca. 1623–25. Oil on canvas, 184 x 141 cm. Detroit Institute of Arts.
Detroit Institute of Arts

A half-length image of a woman in a diaphanous gown with both breasts bared. Her hair is pulled back from her face and adorned with pearls. She holds a knife in her right hand and aims the blade at her chest, looking up at the sky.

Lucretia

ca. 1627
Artemisia Gentileschi, Lucretia, ca. 1627. Oil on canvas, 260 x 200 cm. Getty Museum.
Getty Museum

A young man sits on the head of the giant he has killed, with his ankle crossed over his knee. He wears an ambiguous classical costume and rests his right hand on a sword. He looks directly at the viewer with confidence.

David and the Head of Goliath

ca. 1630s
Artemisia Gentileschi, David and the Head of Goliath, ca. 1630s. Oil on canvas, 201 x 133 cm. Private collection.
Private collection.

A man and a woman are in conversation. The woman holds a silver platter with the decapitated head of a bearded man on it. The man next to her grabs the head by the hair, lifting it for her to see. He holds a sword pointed down in the other hand. There is no sense of setting.

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

ca. 1610–1615
Artemisia Gentileschi, Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist, ca. 1610–1615. Oil on canvas, 84 x 92 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest