The story of Artemesia is currently being explored in an exhibition at the IKON Gallery, Birmingham. 

''Ikon is a partner in National Treasures, a key strand of the programme celebrating the National Gallery’s Bicentenary, NG200. Ikon presents a masterpiece by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654 or later), Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (about 1615-17).

Wrapped around the Gentileschi work, and made as a direct response, is a solo exhibition by contemporary Irish artist Jesse Jones, whose artistic practice crosses film, sound, performance, sculpture and installation. Mirror Martyr Mirror Moon considers art history, cinema, feminism, ritual and healing, presenting multiple interconnected archetypes of feminist resistance.

For this self-portrait Artemisia Gentileschi, the most celebrated female artist of the seventeenth century, appears in the guise of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian saint martyred in the early fourth century. Fascinated by Gentileschi’s decision to title her work Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Jesse Jones explores the performative relationship between the artist and the medium of self-portraiture. Through extensive research, Jones, like many other contemporary scholars, views Gentileschi’s work as a composite of three women: Gentileschi herself, Saint Catherine (287-305 AD) and the pagan philosopher, mathematician and astronomer Hypatia (around 370–415 AD). ''

Artemisia Exhibition

Visit the Manor House at Hidcote this October to see an exhibition presented by the artists of Artemisia.