Artemisia Gentileschi, the exhibition at the Museo degli Innocenti

From October 21, 2026, to April 4, 2027, the Museo degli Innocenti will host a major exhibition dedicated to Artemisia Gentileschi, featuring over 50 works and more than 40 distinguished lenders.

Artemisia Gentileschi: Her Origins and the Influence of Caravaggio

Born in Rome in 1593, her father was Orazio Gentileschi, a painter from Pisa who had moved to Rome and became her first teacher. Thanks to her father, who shared an artistic partnership with Caravaggio and was one of his followers, Artemisia grew up surrounded by painting and closely studied the Caravaggist school, undergoing a fundamental influence that is evident in her works. For this reason, the exhibition begins, exceptionally, with a work by Caravaggio.

Which work by Caravaggio is on display in the exhibition?

The exhibition on Artemisia opens with the famous "Boy Peeling a Fruit" (Mondafrutto), in the so-called Dickinson version—one of the first paintings Caravaggio created in Rome and now the subject of one of the most fascinating historical and critical stories in Baroque art. Probably painted in the mid-1590s, the work immediately became the subject of a veritable hunt by collectors.

Artemisia Gentileschi in Florence: A Woman Who Made History

The exhibition is titled Artemisia Gentileschi in Florence, and for the first time, it explores and recounts the years the painter spent in Florence, between 1613 and 1620.

Artemisia, in fact, arrived in Florence in her early twenties, following her trial against Agostino Tassi and her marriage to the Florentine Pierantonio Stiattesi. The city where she settled was cultured and competitive, enlivened by the court of Cosimo II de’ Medici, Christina of Lorraine, and Maria Magdalena of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany at the time. Here, the painter received commissions, developed her own artistic style, and saw the value of her work recognized.

What forms of recognition established Artemisia as one of the most influential women in the artistic sphere of seventeenth-century Florence?

In 1615, some of her works were selected for the Medici villa at Artimino. During the same period, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger invited her to contribute to the decoration of Casa Buonarroti; Artemisia was the only woman asked to participate in this major collective undertaking, working alongside some of the most prominent Florentine artists.

In 1616, she received another significant honor: Artemisia was admitted to the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of the Arts of Drawing), becoming one of the first women to join this prestigious Florentine institution. This serves as a testament to the standing she managed to secure within a professional world dominated by men.

Artemisia in Florence at the Museo degli Innocenti : what does the ticket include?

Curated by Cristina Acidini, Sandro Bellesi, and Costantino D’Orazio, the exhibition traces this journey through more than fifty masterpieces—works that are usually kept far apart, some rarely seen or lent out—drawn from over 40 museums, foundations, and prestigious Italian and international collections. These include the Vatican Museums, the Uffizi Galleries – Palazzo Pitti, the Museo di Capodimonte, the Houghton Hall Collection, Palazzo Madama – Civic Museum of Ancient Art in Turin, the Fondazione Casa Buonarroti, the National Gallery of Umbria, the National Picture Gallery of Bologna, the National Gallery of the Marche – Ducal Palace of Urbino, and many others.

Judith, Mary Magdalene, Cleopatra, Catherine: in the exhibited canvases, these figures from sacred history and myth possess bodies, gestures, and gazes that invite close observation. Comparing these works with those of other painters of the era reveals how the depiction of a single subject could vary; for instance, the exhibition features works by both Artemisia and her father, Orazio, placed side by side, each portraying the same scene. In Artemisia’s hands, the tension of a moment or the silence of a face becomes the focal point of the painting.

The exhibition, which also extends into the prestigious spaces of the Pinacoteca, offers the additional opportunity to visit—free of charge—the historical and artistic heritage housed within the rooms of the Museo degli Innocenti. Opening hours and ticket prices for the "Artemisia in Florence" exhibition.

The exhibition is accessible to wheelchair users and individuals with reduced mobility.