Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Artemisia Gentileschi painted Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria around 1616, depicting herself in the guise of the early Christian martyr who, according to legend, defeated fifty pagan philosophers in debate before her execution. Catherine's attributes — the spiked wheel of her martyrdom, the palm frond of martyrdom — identify the subject, while the face is recognizably Artemisia's own from comparison with other self-portraits. The choice of Catherine — an educated woman who used her intellect to defend Christianity — as the guise for a self-portrait was surely deliberate: Artemisia identifies herself with a female figure whose power was intellectual and whose courage was tested in the most extreme circumstances.

Artemisia's own features are clearly recognizable in the saint's face, rendered with warm Caravaggesque lighting that models the determined expression and the rich costume with characteristic boldness.