She trained in Rome with her father, Orazio Gentileschi, and later lived and worked in Florence, London and Naples. Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria is closely related to her Self-Portrait as a Lute Player, dating to around 1615, when she was living in Florence. Images of Saint Catherine were extremely popular in the city at this time, possibly due to the presence of Cosimo II de’ Medici’s sister, Caterina.

There are very few women artists represented in the National Gallery, and this is the first work by Gentileschi to enter the collection.

Provenance

Private collection; sold at auction Paris, Christophe Joron-Derem, December 2017; Private Collection. An Art Loss Register certificate has been received with clear results.