The young woman in this painting by Orazio Gentileschi🎨 has been identified by scholars as the artist's daughter, Artemisia Gentileschi🎨. A renowned painter herself, she trained in her father's workshop and established a European reputation that allowed her a life of independence rare for a woman of her day.
One of the most important followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571/72-1610)🎨, Orazio Gentileschi combined a refined and elegant personal manner with Caravaggio's powerful sense of realism.
In this painting, the identification of Artemisia as a Sibyl - defined in ancient Greek literature and legend as a woman with the gift of prophecy - may be based on what happened during the trial of Roman artist Agostino Tassi, whom she accused of rape.