From March 19 to August 03, 2025, the Musée Jacquemart-André will be honouring the Roman artist Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 - circa 1656). As one of the rare female artists of the modern era to have achieved international fame during her lifetime and to have been able to make a living from her painting, this Caravaggesque painter had an extraordinary destiny. Featuring some forty paintings, ranging from the artist’s recognised masterpieces to canvases of recent attribution, as well as paintings rarely shown outside their usual place of conservation, this exhibition highlights Artemisia Gentileschi’s role in the history of 17th century art.

The exhibition aims to demonstrate the profound originality of her work, career and identity, which remain a source of inspiration and fascination to this day. Artemisia’s story spans the centuries, and the reading we can make of her work – a reflection of her experience and resilience – is timeless and universal.

Born in Rome in 1593, the young Artemisia trained with her father, Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639), an artist of Tuscan origin influenced by Caravaggio, and soon showed a singular talent for painting. As an adult, she enjoyed a brilliant career, gaining international renown and commissions throughout Europe, all the way to the court of Charles I of England, where she joined her father in 1638. Despite the flamboyant success she enjoyed during her lifetime, Artemisia fell into oblivion towards the end of the 18th century. It was not until the 20th century that her work was once again appreciated for its true worth.

Her early training with her father Orazio, which is fundamental to understanding her art, as well as Caravaggio’s strong impact, will be highlighted in the exhibition, thanks in particular to rare loans, such as the imposing Susanna and the Elders (Pommersfelden, Schloss Weissenstein), her first signed and dated work, and Caravaggio’s Crowning with thorns (collection of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza S.p.A. in L.C.A.). From the outset, Artemisia demonstrated a unique ability to capture the psychology of her characters, in compositions of explosive power that contrast with Orazio’s lyrical elegance.

It is difficult to separate an analysis of Artemisia Gentileschi’s work from that of her destiny, even if it would be simplistic to understand her art solely in light of her life. In 1611, her life was turned upside down when the painter Agostino Tassi, employed by her father Orazio to teach her perspective, raped her. Refusing to marry the young girl to make amends, Agostino Tassi was brought to trial by Orazio Gentileschi, during which Artemisia was tortured to prove the truth of her accusations. The Gentileschis won the case but Tassi, despite being sentenced to five years’ exile, was protected by Pope Paul V Borghese and was soon able to return to Rome. The way in which Artemisia overcame this ordeal reveals her resilience, courage and determination.

After the trial, Artemisia married a Florentine and moved to Florence. She achieved full emancipation and fame in this period, during which she developed both her technical skills and her erudition. Thanks to the contacts she established in Florence, she later developed an international network of patrons. During these years, along with other artists, she painted the ceiling of the Casa Buonarroti, a house dedicated to the memory of Michelangelo by his descendant, two panels of which are displayed on an exceptional basis in our exhibition.

Artemisia played with her own image and her self-portraits, such as the famous Self-portrait as a Lute Player from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (Hartford), won her the trust of the Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici, who soon commissioned monumental works from her that have now been lost. Her talent as a portraitist, praised by her contemporaries, is a central feature of the exhibition, which presents a series of portraits, some of which have recently been discovered.

Artemisia Gentileschi also drew her inspiration from biblical and literary themes to highlight female and heroic subjects, whom she portrayed with rare empathy. Sometimes, she endowed them with a unique power of seduction of which she was well aware; female nudes painted by a woman were uncommon at the time and highly sought-after by art lovers.

A major part of the exhibition will be devoted to the symbolic duel of Eros and Thanatos, a crucial theme in Baroque art and culture, and one that is truly central to Artemisia Gentileschi’s work.