Susanna and the Elders

Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi painted this Susanna and the Elders in 1610, when she was just seventeen. Unlike male painters who often depicted Susanna as coyly aware of her admirers, Artemisia shows genuine distress as the two elders corner her. The biblical heroine twists away, her face contorted with disgust.

Artemisia became the most famous female painter of the Baroque era, known for powerful depictions of women from history and myth. This early work already shows her distinctive approach to female subjects. The painting resides at Schloss Weissenstein in Pommersfelden, Germany.