Aurora (Artemisia Gentileschi)
Aurora is a c.1625-1627 painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi, depicting the Roman goddess of dawn. It is part of a private collection in Rome.[1]
| Aurora | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Artemisia Gentileschi |
| Year | c.1625-1627 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 218 cm × 146 cm (86 in × 57 in) |
| Location | Private collection, Rome |
Subject matter
In Roman mythology, the goddess Aurora rises every morning to signal the arrival of the Sun by coloring the sky, which was used in the period as a metaphor for creativity and beauty.[1] Her contemporary Pierre Dumonstier created a drawing of Artemisia's hand holding a brush which refers to the "hands of Aurora",[2] praising both her beauty as well as her skill as a colorist.[3]
Provenance
The painting passed through the Arrighetti family before arriving on the art market in Florence in 1974.[4] Bissell believes the patron was Niccolò Arrighetti, associate of Michelangelo Buonarroti,[5] who had commissioned Gentileschi to paint Allegory of Inclination a decade earlier.
References
- Locker 2015, p. 113.
- "Right hand of Artemisia Gentileschi holding a brush. 1625 Black and red chalk". British Museum. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- Locker 2015, p. 5.
- Bissell 1999, p. 220.
- Bissell 1999, p. 221.
Sources
- Bissell, R. Ward (1999). Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art : Critical Reading and Catalogue Raisonné. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 9780271017877.
- Locker, Jesse (2015). Artemisia Gentileschi : the Language of Painting. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300185119.