Becoming Artemisia: A Walk Through Her Florence

In the 17th century, Artemisia Gentileschi emerged as one of the most compelling painters of her time. Her unflinching clarity and business acumen allowed her to flourish in a world dominated by men. In her hands, familiar subjects were transformed: heroines once cast as victims emerged instead as warriors. Her work gave voice to women too often silenced, not only on the canvas but in life.

After Artemisia was assaulted by another artist, Agostino Tassi, at just 17, a long and public trial ensued. While he was found guilty, it was Artemisia who had to leave her Roman home. In 1612, she arrived in Florence, determined to make a name for herself: “This move was key,” explains Letizia Treves, Global Head of Research & Expertise, Old Masters at Christie’s and curator of the highly-acclaimed 2020 exhibition Artemisia at London’s National Gallery. “She was married now, and her change in status allowed greater freedom. Florence was a city that was receptive to female talent, and Artemisia would have benefited from that.”

She assumed the name ‘Lomi’ – from her grandfather – to underscore her Tuscan roots - a tactic to ensure prospective Florentine patrons thought of her as one of their own. Shortly after her arrival, she completed what is now her most famous composition, the iconic Judith Beheading Holofernes. Now housed in The Uffizi, it captures the gory scene with elegantly grim determination.

Created around the time of her trial, the painting is often read as autobiographical – Judith as Artemisia, Holofernes as Tassi. But Treves urges a more nuanced view: “Artemisia would undoubtedly have relished the role reversal of a strong woman overpowering a man, but reading these pictures in purely biographical terms – as Artemisia’s ‘revenge in paint’ against her rapist – diminishes her achievement as an artist.”

One of her earliest commissions in the city still hangs at Casa Buonarroti. Painted for Michelangelo’s great-nephew, her Allegory of Inclination shows a female figure, likely a self-portrait, seated on a cloud, compass in hand; it was a declaration of her presence in a space reserved for the celebration of artistic genius. “She turned the challenge of being a woman into an opportunity,” Treves explains. “Collectors would have been captivated by her status, and her pictures of heroic women would have had additional appeal because they were painted by a woman. This was a unique selling point of which Artemisia would have been well aware.”

Nearby, in the quiet streets of the Sant’Ambrogio quarter, Artemisia lived and worked. Her second son, Cristofano, was baptised at the local Church of St Ambrose – a modest but historic chapel where several Renaissance artists are buried. These streets, once home to artists’ studios and intellectual salons, still hum with creative energy today.

In 1616, Artemisia achieved what no woman before her had: she was admitted to the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Florence’s historic artistic institution, whose members included Donatello and Da Vinci. It was not only an honour, but a declaration of artistic parity.

“Artemisia was able to get under the skin of her protagonist, which made her an exceptional storyteller – something for which she is admired by audiences today, as well as those in her own time,” adds Treves.

By the time Artemisia left Florence in 1620, she had secured her place among the city’s most respected painters. What began as a relocation became a rebirth – not as a woman fleeing scandal, but as an artist defining her legacy.

Discover Florence through Artemisia’s eyes with Hotel Savoy, and raise a glass to her legacy at Bar Artemisia.