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Lot Essay
This recently discovered canvas, preserving the bust of Galatea from a composition once representing the nymph’s marine apotheosis, is a fascinating addition to Artemisia Gentileschi's Neapolitan corpus. The fluid modelling of flesh combined with the luminous tonality of the drapery are consistent with Gentileschi’s work in Naples during the 1630s/40s—a period marked by her close collaboration with local painters such as Bernardo Cavallino and Onofrio Palumbo (G. Porzio, op. cit., pp. 106, 111). Though reduced in format, the present painting retains the expressive core of the original design: Galatea’s rapt gaze and parted lips evoke the moment of ecstatic transformation celebrated in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Giuseppe Porzio first published the present painting, identifying it unequivocally as autograph (ibid., p. 114) and noting that the upward-turned face, pearl earring, and ultramarine drapery correspond closely to the central figure in two large Triumphs of Galatea produced in Artemisia’s Neapolitan workshop: the canvas in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (inv. no. 2000.61.1) and a variant recently acquired by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles (Christie’s, New York, 15 October 2020, lot 50, $2,130,000; ibid., pp. 108-109, 114).
Contemporary sources record four Galateas painted by Artemisia in Naples; two of these documents explicitly name Artemisia as the artist, while the remaining two, though the artist is not specified, have been widely associated with her in modern scholarship:
(1) A canvas delivered by January 1649 to Antonio Ruffo, by some identified with the Los Angeles picture (ibid.).
(2) A request for a replica mentioned by Artemisia in letter dated 13 November 1649; its execution remains uncertain and the work remains untraced (ibid., citing Lettere di Artemisia, Solinas ed., 2021)
(3) A painting listed simply as ‘Galatea’ in Bernardino Belprato’s 1667 inventory, without dimensions, currently untraced (ibid.).
(4) A large picture recorded in the 1710 probate of Gennaro D’Andrea, also presently unlocated (ibid.).
An additional Galatea, recorded in the 1744 inventory of Antonio Arici with an attribution to Cavallino, has been associated with the Washington canvas, though this identification remains debated (ibid., pp. 114–115). Despite the clear subject matter, due to its fragmentary state and the vague nature of these sources, the present painting cannot be definitively linked to a specific reference.
In addition to Giuseppe Porzio, we are grateful to Maria Cristina Terzaghi (written communication, 1 May 2025; following first-hand inspection) and Riccardo Lattuada (written communication, 24 April 2025; on the basis of photographs) for endorsing the attribution to Artemisia Gentileschi.
Giuseppe Porzio first published the present painting, identifying it unequivocally as autograph (ibid., p. 114) and noting that the upward-turned face, pearl earring, and ultramarine drapery correspond closely to the central figure in two large Triumphs of Galatea produced in Artemisia’s Neapolitan workshop: the canvas in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (inv. no. 2000.61.1) and a variant recently acquired by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles (Christie’s, New York, 15 October 2020, lot 50, $2,130,000; ibid., pp. 108-109, 114).
Contemporary sources record four Galateas painted by Artemisia in Naples; two of these documents explicitly name Artemisia as the artist, while the remaining two, though the artist is not specified, have been widely associated with her in modern scholarship:
(1) A canvas delivered by January 1649 to Antonio Ruffo, by some identified with the Los Angeles picture (ibid.).
(2) A request for a replica mentioned by Artemisia in letter dated 13 November 1649; its execution remains uncertain and the work remains untraced (ibid., citing Lettere di Artemisia, Solinas ed., 2021)
(3) A painting listed simply as ‘Galatea’ in Bernardino Belprato’s 1667 inventory, without dimensions, currently untraced (ibid.).
(4) A large picture recorded in the 1710 probate of Gennaro D’Andrea, also presently unlocated (ibid.).
An additional Galatea, recorded in the 1744 inventory of Antonio Arici with an attribution to Cavallino, has been associated with the Washington canvas, though this identification remains debated (ibid., pp. 114–115). Despite the clear subject matter, due to its fragmentary state and the vague nature of these sources, the present painting cannot be definitively linked to a specific reference.
In addition to Giuseppe Porzio, we are grateful to Maria Cristina Terzaghi (written communication, 1 May 2025; following first-hand inspection) and Riccardo Lattuada (written communication, 24 April 2025; on the basis of photographs) for endorsing the attribution to Artemisia Gentileschi.