The Italian, Artemisia Gentileschi, has earned the position of leading female painter, if not artist, during the seventeenth century in Europe. As her reputation continues to grow even after more than 300 years since her death, there remains room for additional scholarship regarding her artistic output.
After presenting a thorough discussion of Artemisia entielschi's background, this thesis explores questions surrounding four paintings attributed to Artemisia all of which have been dated to the period of 1630-50, when she worked in Naples, an often under appreciated center for religious and artistic activity. The four paintings, all which reside in United States collections, are: the Lot and His Daughters (Toledo Museum of Art), the Esther Before Ahasuerus (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), the Galatea (private collection, formerly of the Richard L. Feigen Gallery), and the Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University).
By questioning some of the recent scholarship devoted to these paintings, and by adding several new opinions, I hope to clarify scholars and students' conceptions of Artemisia's time spent in Naples and demonstrate the manner in which she fit into the fairly tight Neapolitan circle of artists.