In early 1613, the 19-year-old Artemisia Gentileschi moved to Florence with her new husband, Pietro Antonio Stiattesi, a native of the city. They had married the previous November, shortly after a humiliating trial in Rome in which the painter Agostino Tassi was accused of raping Artemisia in the studio of her father, Orazio Gentileschi. Although Tassi was convicted, the scandal left Artemisia socially compromised, and a husband was quickly sought. The choice fell on Stiattesi, the brother of the notary whom Orazio had called to testify at the trial.
See also: Artemisia Gentileschi: The Passionate Feminist Artist
In Florence, Artemisia worked to establish herself as a painter, producing a series of self-portraits that demonstrated her skill while dispensing with hired models.
Several early self-portraits by Artemisia Gentileschi survive, four from her Florentine period and another from the 1630s. Examples are held at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford (Self-Portrait as a Lute Player), the National Gallery in London (Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria), and in a private collection (Self-Portrait as a Martyr).
See also: The First Known Artworks of 10 Famous Artists
A closely related work, also depicting the artist with the attributes of Saint Catherine, remains in a private collection. On loan to the National Museum in Oslo from 2022 to 2025, it was offered on February 4 as a highlight of Christie’s Old Masters sale in New York, with an estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million.
After strong bidding, the painting sold for $5,687,000, including buyer’s premium, more than doubling the low estimate and setting a new auction record for Artemisia Gentileschi. The previous record was set in 2019 at Artcurial in Paris, where a depiction of Lucretia sold for €4,647,500.
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Alongside what is believed to be Artemisia Gentileschi’s earliest self-portrait, a work by Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, also drew considerable attention. The painting sold for $30,535,000, the second-highest auction result for the Venetian artist.
The painting, made in the 1750s during Canaletto’s time in England, shows the Doge’s departure on Ascension Day, a subject the artist returned to repeatedly. It closely follows a version he had painted about twenty years earlier. That earlier work, first owned by Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole and displayed at 10 Downing Street, sold for £31,935,000 at Christie’s in London last July, a record price driven by its subject, execution and provenance.
See also: Canaletto Painting Sets New Auction Record at Christie’s
The Old Masters sale in New York realised a total of $54,130,050, the highest result Christie’s New York has achieved for an auction devoted exclusively to Old Masters since 2012.
Jennifer Wright, Head of the Old Masters department in New York, commented: “The sale had fantastic energy. We had competitive bidding from all around the globe, especially for the top-five lots. We were thrilled to set a new world record for Artemisia Gentileschi, in a sale that saw robust bidding for Italian Baroque pieces that we have not seen in some time.”
Other leading lots included Sandro Botticelli’s Madonna and Child with the Young John the Baptist ($5,199,000), Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s Village Scene with the Flight into Egypt ($2,027,000), and Jean Siméon Chardin’s La Mère laborieuse, which also sold for $2,027,000.
