Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Day 13 of the 30 day challenge

I have mentioned a number of times about what a pleasure it is to be a member of the National Gallery here in London.

For the ridiculously cheap price of £55 a year you get invitations to Member’s Only previews of all the exhibitions, and unlimited free entry to all of the specialist exhibitions for a full year. Plus invitations to the Member’s Summer and Christmas parties.

The Gallery have recently acquired a painting by the Italian baroque female painter Artemisia Gentileschi for the sum of £3.6 million, thanks in part to the Gallery’s American Friends, and while on my way to see it yesterday I was shocked to realise that I am unable to name any female artist other than modern ones.

This isn’t really surprising — of 2,300 works in the National Gallery there is a grand total of only 21 paintings by women.

There has been some discussion about the subject of female great masters, or maybe that should read great mistresses although it sounds all wrong, for many years, and I’m not the first to realise this severe lack of knowledge on my behalf, and one reason given is that the lack of female artists is nothing to do with any lack of talent but more the male dominated institutions that have made it…