Sweden, a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi purchased by the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm

The Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden, has purchased a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi (Rome, 1593 - Naples, 1654) depicting a St. Catherine of Alexandria: it will be on display in the Swedish museum starting tomorrow, Feb. 25, 2020. The painting depicts the patron saint of philosophers and scholars and would have been executed in Naples in the mid-1930s. It is a very frequent subject in Artemisia Gentileschi’s production.

The “Swedish” Catherine is presented with a dramatic expression, a penetrating gaze, a face modeled with great softness, and with an innovative interpretation of the subject: the saint is in fact portrayed as a young intellectual, leaning on a book, a symbol of her erudition (according to hagiography, Catherine of Alexandria was in fact a young virgin who lived in the fourth century, known for her wisdom and beauty). She has the palm of martyrdom in front of her (the wheel, her typical iconographic attribute, is not seen, however) and she wears robes of precious pink taffeta. The luministic effects and refined palette make the painting a work of great quality.

The painting has long been considered a work of Artemisia’s Florentine period, although lately it has been given, as mentioned, to the Neapolitan period. It appeared on the market in 1940, when it was purchased by a private collector in Palm Springs, United States. The heirs sold it in 1995 through auction at Sotheby’s, and it was then resold, again at Sotheby’s, in 2006. It last went through auction, again at Sotheby’s, in 2019. The attribution to Artemisia Gentileschi, formulated by Alessandro Grassi, has been accepted by scholars such as Riccardo Lattuada, Nicola Spinosa, Keith Christiansen, and Maria Cristina Terzaghi.

“We are very pleased to add a work by Artemisia Gentileschi to our collection,” says Susanna Pettersson, general director of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. “This allows us to provide visitors with a more balanced view of art history, since women artists from this period are often not represented. Artemisia Gentileschi is also a very timely topic since the National Gallery in London is organizing a major exhibition dedicated to her in the spring.”

Sweden, a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi purchased by the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm

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