The National Gallery Acquires Its First Painting by a Woman Since 1991

The London museum’s acquisition of what is believed to be a rare Artemisia Gentileschi self-portrait demands a closer look at the world the artist inhabited in 17th-century Florence.

And the painter they chose was Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), whose first art show wasn’t held til 1991. Famously, she painted herself as Judith, beheading her rapist (as Holofernes). She also took her rapist to court and won – in the 1600s!

I cover her in book one. Here she is, painting her famous rendition of Judith and Holofernes.