ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi
http://www.artemisia-gentileschi.com/index.shtml
http://www.webwinds.com/artemisia/trial.htm

Self-portrait (1630s, Royal Collection, London)
Birth name: Artemisia Gentileschi
Born: July 8, 1593 Rome, Italy
Died: c. 1656 Naples, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Field Painting
Training Orazio Gentileschi
Movement Baroque

Artemisia Gentileschi (8 July 1593–ca. 1656) was an Italian Early Baroque painter, today considered one of the most accomplished painters in the generation influenced by Caravaggio. In an era when women painters were not easily accepted by the artistic community, she was the first female painter to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence.

She was one of the first female artists to paint historical and religious paintings, at a time when such heroic themes were considered beyond a woman's reach.