Artemisia Gentileschi was very successful, although a female painter in the male-dominated art world of her time, and became a symbol of courageous women because she testified, despite being tortured, against a man who raped her when she was 17
Italian police have prevented a possible illegal sale by an auction house in Vienna of a 17th-century painting by the painter Artemisia Gentileschi.
Italy’s police directorate for the protection of cultural heritage said dealers allegedly described the work as painted by a fan of Gentileschi, rather than by the artist herself, in order to misleadingly obtain an export permit from Italian authorities.
Artemisia Gentileschi was very successful, although a female painter in the male-dominated art world of her time, and became a symbol of courageous women because she testified, despite being tortured, against a man who raped her when she was 17.
“The painting was planned to be sold at auction,” the head of the unit for the protection of cultural heritage, Alfio Gulotta, told Italian state television from Bari, where the returned masterpiece, Caritas Romana (Roman Charity), was presented to reporters.
Bari: recuperato dai #Carabinieri #TPC dipinto seicentesco di Artemisia Gentileschi illegally exported from the national territory in the attempt to commercialize it abroad. Due persone indagate per truffa ed exportation illecita di beni culturali #PossiamoAiutarvi pic.twitter.com/72TR3qGXNJ
— Arma dei Carabinieri (@_Carabinieri_) July 20, 2022
This is an early work of Gentileschi influenced by the painter Caravaggio.
Italian police authorities said they suspected the middlemen, using a middleman based in Tuscany, aimed to sell the painting abroad and deliberately failed to file historical documentation of the work’s true provenance.
The value of the work “Roman Caritas” (Roman Mercy) is estimated at two million euros and was to be sold through the Dorhoteum auction house in Vienna, with the risk that Italy will lose forever a painting of great historical-artistic and economic value.
The work “Caritas romana” returned to Puglia from Austria where it had been illegally exported in 2019.
The two owners of the project are accused of fraud and illegal export of cultural goods.
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