Orazio Gentileschi's Long Overdue Recognition in Rome Exhibition

A compact yet significant exhibition at Palazzo Barberini in Rome repositions Orazio Gentileschi as a master of European painting, often overshadowed by Caravaggio and his daughter Artemisia. The show centers on a newly attributed painting, 'San Francesco in estasi' (St. Francis in Ecstasy), discovered in 2021 by curator Yuri Primarosa and co-curated with Giuseppe Porzio. Gentileschi, a Pisan painter (1563–1639), was a key figure in Roman Caravaggism alongside Giovanni Baglione, Orazio Borgianni, and Antiveduto Gramatica. He was a close friend of Caravaggio, witnessing his studio practice and adopting his naturalistic style, though art historian Roberto Longhi in 1916 criticized Gentileschi as 'more realist than Caravaggio' and thus inferior for copying nature without transformation. The exhibition also highlights a connection between Caravaggism and the Capuchin Franciscan spirituality, emphasizing an ascetic imitation of Christ. The painting, dated 1610–1612, shows Gentileschi's shift after encountering Caravaggio's naturalism.