1
00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:29,559
My name is Letizia Treves and I am the James and Sarah Sassoon Curator of the later Italian,

2
00:00:30,019 --> 00:00:33,880
Spanish and 17th century French paintings here at the National Gallery and I'm absolutely

3
00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:39,799
delighted to talk to you today about our new acquisition, this self-portrait as Saint Catherine

4
00:00:39,799 --> 00:00:45,399
of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi. Now Artemisia is without doubt the most celebrated

5
00:00:45,399 --> 00:00:50,219
female artist of the 17th century and it has been on our wish list here at the Gallery

6
00:00:50,219 --> 00:00:55,560
to have a painting by her for a very long time and we're delighted to have had the opportunity now

7
00:00:55,560 --> 00:01:01,479
to buy this newly discovered work and not only is it a work by Artemisia but the fact that we have

8
00:01:01,479 --> 00:01:07,159
a self-portrait of the artist as well. It seemed like an opportunity too good to miss for us.

9
00:01:07,980 --> 00:01:12,680
Like Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi's life story has somewhat overshadowed her artistic

10
00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:18,400
achievements. In 1611, when she was just 17, something happened that really changed her life

11
00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,719
both professionally and personally.

12
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,560
She was raped by the painter Agostino Tassi,

13
00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,599
who was a collaborator and acquaintance of her father's, Orazio.

14
00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,120
He'd been brought in to teach Artemisia the art of perspective.

15
00:01:30,659 --> 00:01:34,400
A long trial followed, and we know the details of that trial

16
00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,019
because the documents survive, and we know that Artemisia was tortured

17
00:01:38,019 --> 00:01:41,439
and she was subjected to really grueling questioning.

18
00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,040
Tassi was prosecuted, but his punishment was never enforced,

19
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:51,420
And so Artemisia was married off quickly to a Florentine artist shortly afterwards,

20
00:01:51,599 --> 00:01:53,280
and she left Rome for Florence.

21
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,280
And it's in Florence that she arrives in 1612 as a young woman,

22
00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,879
and it's the first chance that she can work outside of the shadow of her father as well.

23
00:02:03,159 --> 00:02:06,280
And it's from this period in Florence between 1612 and 1620

24
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,360
where she's sort of establishing her artistic independence that this picture dates.