Right hand of Artemisia Gentileschi holding a brush

Right hand of Artemisia Gentileschi holding a brush. 1625 Black and red chalk.

Inscription Content:
Signed, dated and inscribed in red chalk: 'Faict a Rome par Pierre Du Monstier Parisien, Ce dernier de Decemb.re 1625./ aprez la digne main de l'excellente et sçavante Artemise gentil done Romanine' (Made in Rome by Pierre Dumonstier, Parisian, the last day of December, 1625, after the worthy hand of the excellent and skilful Artemisia, gentlewoman of Rome.)

Verso: 'Les mains de l'Aurore sont louées et renommées pour leur rare beauté. Mais celle cy/ plus digne le doit estre mille fois plus, pour scavoir faire des merveilles,/ qui ravissent les yeux des plus Judicieux.' (The hands of Aurora are praised and renowned for their rare beauty. But this one is a thousand times more worthy for knowing how to make marvels that send the most judicious eyes into raptures.)

Curator's comments:
This is not a study of a generic hand, but the hand of the famous and talented Italian painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, whom Dumonstier apparently met in Rome. An elegant and calligraphic inscription across the top of the sheet proudly proclaims that the drawing was, `made in Rome by Pierre Dumonstier, Parisian, the last day of December, 1625, after the worthy hand of the excellent and skilful Artemisia, gentlewoman of Rome.' An inscription on the verso goes on to compare the painter to the goddess Aurora. In short, the hand, poised with a delicate grip on a fine-tipped brush, is a substitute for the artist herself, making this a symbolic portrait.