Long Lost Artemisia Gentileschi Painting Acquired by Kimbell Art Museum

By Bronwyn May Johnston

Following centuries effaced from the history of Baroque art, Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) is finally acquiring the acclaim she has so long deserved. The Kimbell Art Museum’s recent acquisition of Gentileschi’s long lost Penitent Mary Magdalene, 1625-1626, marks the most recent step in honouring this heroine of seventeenth century art.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Penitent Mary Magdalene, 1625–26, oil on canvas 108.8 x 93 cm, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth.

Image courtesy of the Kimbell Art Museum.

Gentileschi was known to have painted a composition of Mary Magdalene in 1625 for the Spanish Ambassador to Rome, Fernando Enríquez Afán de Ribera, the Duke of Alcalá, however the whereabouts of Gentileschi’s painting had long been lost to myth. The influence of the painting upon Rome’s contemporary art scene is traceable in compositions such as Simon Vouet’s Virginia da Vezzo, The Artist’s Wife, as the Magdalene, 1623-1627, as well as the numerous copies of Gentileschi’s Magdalene. Upon accruing significant influence in Rome, the work was then transported with the Duke when he returned to Seville in 1626, yet centuries passed until this painting was gazed upon again.

Simon Vouet, Virginia da Vezzo, The Artist’s Wife, as the Magdalene, 1626–1627, oil on canvas, 101.6 x 78.7 cm, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Image courtesy of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

In 2021, amidst the Covid pandemic, Art Historian Jesse Locker found himself delving into old research notes to uncover prompts for new investigations. After stumbling upon a reference to an unpublished ‘copy’ of a lost Gentileschi’s Mary Magdalene, Locker discovered that the work was stored in a private American collection, following its purchase from Parisian auction house, Tajan, in 2001. According to Locker, who was prepared to simply uncover another fake Gentileschi, the art historian’s expectations were far exceeded.

Following his inspection of the work, Locker stated:

“In every respect, it is clearer, brighter, more legible, and better painted than the other versions, and shows a subtlety of light and colour, and masterful portrayal of flesh and fabric, that is consistent with the artist at the height of her powers.”

When compared to the copies hung in the Seville Cathedral or the Museo Soyumaya, Mexico City, which appear hard-edged, polished, and predetermined, it was the subtle interplay of light and shadow in the painting that revealed Gentileschi’s authorship. This further manifests in the rendering of drapery and a still life, that connotes Gentileschi’s Judith and Her Manservant, 1623 – 25, in the Detroit Institute of Art. Therefore, whilst art historians are currently unable to understand how the painting moved from Seville to Paris, its distinct visual elements strongly attest to the work’s authenticity.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and Maidservant with Head of Holofernes, 1623 – 1625, oil on canvas, 187.2 x 142 cm, Detroit Institute of Arts.

Image courtesy of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The revelatory discovery made by Locker, subsequently attracted the attention of the Kimbell Art Museum, who had long been embroiled in a search for ‘the right painting by Gentileschi.’ In September of this year, New York based Art Dealer Adam Williams acquired the painting on behalf of the museum, who have not disclosed the price paid for the work. Following much anticipation, the painting was unveiled in the museum, with director Eric Lee proclaiming, that ‘nothing compares with seeing the newly discovered, emotive original in person.’ Thus, as Gentileschi hangs alongside her male contemporaries Caravaggio and Guercino, the Kimbell Museum’s recent acquisition attests to feminist art historian Linda Nochlin’s essay ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?’, demonstrating that there are indeed many great women artists whose work we must discover.

Bibliography

Cascone, Sarah. ‘Long-Lost Artemisia Gentileschi Masterpiece Goes on View After Centuries of Obscurity.’ Accessed November 24, 2024, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/kimbell-art-museum-artemisia-gentileschi-2533554

 Finestre sull’Arte. ‘Lost Masterpiece by Artemisia Gentileschi Reappears in Texas.’ Accessed November 27, 2024, https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/ancient-art/lost-masterpiece-by-artemisia-gentileschi-reappears-in-texas

Kimbell Art Museum. ‘Recently Discovered Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi is Acquired by Kimbell.’ Accessed November 24, 2024, https://kimbellart.org/news-and-stories/recently-discovered-painting-artemisia-gentileschi-acquired#:~:text=The%20Kimbell%20Art%20Museum%20announces,its%20creation%20around%201625–26

 Locker, Jesse. ‘Has a Long-Lost Artemisia Finally Come to Light?’ Accessed November 24, 2024, https://www.apollo-magazine.com/artemisia-gentileschi-rediscovered-magdalene/

 McGivern, Hannah. ‘This Month’s Museums Acquisitions Round-Up: Nan Goldin, Artemisia Gentileschi and Picasso.’ Accessed November, 24, 2024, https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/11/22/acquisitions-round-up-nan-goldin-artemisia-gentileschi-and-picasso

 Nochlin, Linda. ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?’ Art News 69, (1971): 145-178.