Damaged anonymous painting in Beirut attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi

A painting titled 'Hercules and Omphale,' previously cataloged as anonymous and damaged in the 2020 Beirut port explosion, has been attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi. The work belongs to the Sursock collection, one of Lebanon's most aristocratic families. It was transported to the Getty Museum for restoration and long-term loan. Davide Gasparotto, senior curator at the Getty, confirmed the attribution, calling it 'one of her most ambitious in terms of size and complexity of figures.' The attribution was proposed by Lebanese artist and art historian Gregory Buchakjian, and supported by Gentileschi scholar Sheila Barker, who noted the work emerged 'from this completely unexpected corner of the southern Mediterranean.' The painting depicts the myth of Hercules and Omphale, with Omphale enthroned and Hercules handling a spindle—a gender role inversion typical of Gentileschi's themes. Gasparotto suggested it may have been painted during Gentileschi's Neapolitan period. An exhibition titled 'Artemisia Gentileschi a Napoli' will open on December 3 at Gallerie d'Italia in Naples, covering her career from 1630 to 1654, with a London interlude from spring 1638 to spring 1640. The painting was among artworks damaged in the August 4, 2020 explosion that killed over 200 people and injured 7,000. Another Gentileschi work, the 'Maddalena Sursock,' was also damaged and previously exhibited at Palazzo Reale in Milan in 2021 for 'Le Signore dell'Arte.'