ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI

This impressive composition ranks among the masterpieces executed by Artemisia Gentileschi, daughter of the painter Orazio Gentileschi and a strong woman who, against all odds, established herself as a respected painter. The subject is executed with a directness that sets it apart from many other contemporary renditions. The theatrical lighting of the scene echoes in many respects the works of the northern followers of Caravaggio, who had specialized in such effects, while the intense realism of the scene is close to Caravaggio himself.