A painting by Artemisia Gentileschi lost for a century, found in the British Royal Collection

2023-09-25 15:43:44

A lost painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, ‘Susana and the old people’has been discovered in the UK Royal Collection. Specifically, it was in a warehouse at the residence of Hampton Court for a century, covered in dust. After its restoration, it is now exhibited in the windsor castle. The painting had been misattributed and stored for many years, without anyone noticing it. “Artemisia was a strong, dynamic and exceptionally talented artist, whose female characters, including Susanna, look at you from her canvases with the same determination that Artemisia had in a male-dominated art world in the 17th century,” said Anna Reynolds, one of the curators of the Royal Collection, in a press release.

This discovery sheds light on his stay in London in the late 1630s, when he briefly worked alongside his father, Orazio, at the English court. The theme of the work becomes especially relevant if we take into account the biography of the artist: was raped in Italy by another artist and friend of his father, Agostino Tassi, and lived hell in the subsequent trial. The painting depicts the biblical story of Susanna, who rejected the advances of two men in her garden and faced death after a false accusation of infidelity.

This masterpiece was rescued thanks to the experience of the art historian Niko Munz and a team of conservators from the Royal Collection, who were investigating the whereabouts of paintings presumed lost or sold from the Royal Collection after the execution of Charles I in 1649. Wrapped in earth, under the heavy varnish of previous restorations, they were found the canvas. On the back the letters CR appeared, ‘Charles King‘, depicting Charles I. An avid collector and patron, he owned seven paintings of Artemisia, but it was long believed that only one, ‘Self-portrait as an allegory of painting’, survived. His history has now been traced thanks to official records that prove it. It was commissioned by the king’s wife, Henrietta Maria of France, around 1638-1639. The work hung over the fireplace in his private living room.

‘Susanna and the Elders’, by Artemisia Gentileschi (ca. 1638-1639), after its restoration Photo: Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III

The painting was returned to the king’s son, Charles II, after the restoration in 1660, where it remained hanging in Somerset House. A watercolor from 1819 shows him leaning against a wall in the queen’s bedroom at Kensington Palace. By this time, Artemisia’s reputation had declined and the work was eventually moved to Hampton Court Palace. The latest record shows that it was the subject of a restoration in 1862, which at the time required intense painting, before falling into oblivion. Her interest in baroque paintings disappeared in the 18th century and her work was stored and misattributed to another minor Italian artist, before being erroneously assigned to the French School.

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