Saint Cecilia

Artemisia Gentileschi rendered this Saint Cecilia around 1620, creating a devotional work that has remained in the Spada collection since the seventeenth century. The oil on canvas measures 78.5 by 108 cm and hangs at the Galleria Spada in Rome.

The painting shows a woman in a yellow gown playing a lute, her gaze lifted heavenward. A 1988 cleaning revealed an organ in the background, confirming the subject as Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music. The early Christian martyr, executed around 230 AD in Rome, became associated with musical instruments through medieval legend. Gentileschi depicts her fingers delicately positioned on the strings, suggesting sacred rather than worldly performance.

Artemisia was born in Rome in 1593, daughter of painter Orazio Gentileschi. She worked in the style of Caravaggio, using bold chiaroscuro and dramatic lighting that set her apart from female contemporaries. She became the first woman admitted to Florence's Accademia delle Arti del Disegno and worked for patrons including the Grand Duke of Tuscany and Philip IV of Spain.