Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was an Italian Baroque artist who became known for using a realistic style to capture highly dramatic moments. She came from a family of artists; her father, Orazio Gentileschi was a prominent painter. Both Orazio and Artemisia were ‘Caravaggists’, painting in the style of the legendary Caravaggio.
Throughout art history, Artemisia has been considered one of the most accomplished successors of Caravaggio. Her use of colour and depth of composition is outstanding, and she often portrayed strong female figures from mythologies, biblical stories and allegories.
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Lucretia is no exception, and the painting depicts the eponymous Roman noblewoman about to commit suicide after she has been raped. Gentileschi has depicted the exact moment before Lucretia is about to stab the dagger into her chest, heightening the tension within the painting. According to legend, that event marked Rome's transformation from the Kingdom to the Republic.
Experts believe that the work was painted around the 1630s in Naples. It is in surprisingly good condition and, according to art expert Eric Turquin, "holds a place in the world's greatest art museums". Matthieu Fournier, Associate Director of Old Master and 19th-century Art at Artcurial, says that Lucretia is an autobiographical work. Both Lucretia and Artemisia were raped, but each processed the trauma differently.
It is extremely unusual for Artemisia Gentileschi's works to come on the market. In 2017, the self-portrait where she portrayed herself as Catherine of Alexandria, was bought by the National Gallery in London for around £3.6 million, which was then a record price. The following year, another work representing Lucretia was sold for £1.4 million. Now, a new record for the artist has been set when Lucretia went for €4.78 million (£4.09 million) at the auction house Artcurial, going far beyond its estimate of €600,000-800,000 (£511,000-681,000).
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Interest in Gentileschi is still growing, even though historically collectors have favoured her male counterparts.
Pontus Silfverstolpe, cofounder of Barnebys, said, "Throughout history, women and men have had different conditions in general. It is noticeable in the art world that female artists had worse conditions to strike through in the market, compared to men. But we already see that it is about to change and 2020 will be the year when women artists take their revenge. "
Many claim that it is partly because of the #metoo movement that Gentileschi has seen a recent spike in popularity, framing her as a feminist icon and resulting in a parallel price increase at auction.
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In the spring of 2020, the artist's masterpiece will be exhibited at the National Gallery in London. More than 35 works from all corners of the world will be shown to the public, including Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria. This piece marked the first time that the National Gallery acquired a work of art by a female artist in 27 years – about time!