A significant re-evaluation of the later career and life of a beloved Baroque artist, Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c. 1656), who has played a major role in the discussion surrounding art history over the last two decades. This focus on Artemisia, after many years of scholarly neglect, is partly due to interest in the dramatic details of her early life, including the widely publicized rape trial of her teacher, Agostino Tassi, and her admission to the prestigious Academy of Design in Florence. While her early paintings have been extensively discussed, her later work has been largely dismissed.

This beautifully illustrated and elegantly written book provides a groundbreaking look into Artemisia's later career, challenging long-standing assumptions about the artist. The fact that she was semi-literate has wrongly led scholars to assume that she lacked literary and cultural education. Emphasizing the importance of orality in Baroque culture and in Artemisia's paintings, Locker highlights her significance in the cultural dialogue of the 17th century.