After nearly four centuries, Artemisia Gentileschi’s “Maddalena” returns to Naples, the city where it was painted between 1630 and 1635. The masterpiece is on display at the Santa Chiara Monumental Complex until January 19, 2025. This return marks a significant event for Neapolitan art and culture, as the painting has long been held by private owners and, for the past hundred years, was part of the Sursock collection in Beirut. Severely damaged in the explosion on August 4, 2020, the “Maddalena” has been restored thanks to the intervention of Arthemisia and now shines once more.
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Neapolitan period was the most prolific and significant of her career. Arriving in Naples in 1630, she quickly integrated into the vibrant local artistic scene, working alongside masters such as Massimo Stanzione and Bernardo Cavallino. During her stay, she maintained relationships with important patrons and figures, including Cassiano dal Pozzo, Duke of Modena Francesco I d’Este, and Ferdinando II de’ Medici. Additionally, Galileo Galilei and Don Antonio Ruffo were among her advisors and mediators. In Naples, Gentileschi created a flourishing workshop and produced numerous works, including the only public commissions of her career for the Cathedral of Pozzuoli.
The “Maddalena” perfectly reflects the style Artemisia developed in Naples, characterized by intense tones of golden yellow and ultramarine blue, emphasized by chiaroscuro. The figure of the saint, with her ecstatic gaze turned towards the divine, is accompanied by symbols representing the abandonment of her previous life, such as jewelry and the ointment jar.
The exhibition is sponsored by the Campania Region and the Municipality of Naples and realized in collaboration with the Napoletan Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of the Order of Friars Minor, the FEC (Fondo Edifici di Culto), Agape, and Arthemisia. The scientific curation is entrusted to Costantino d’Orazio, and the exhibition catalog is published by Moebius. The event marks the beginning of a project of new cultural initiatives at the Santa Chiara Monumental Complex, culminating in April 2025 with a major exhibition dedicated to Saint Clare and Saint Francis on the occasion of the Jubilee and the 800th anniversary of the “Canticle of the Creatures.”