In my research, I have found it puzzling that only one Annunciation was cited as done by a woman’s hand. This reference is in Germaine Greer’s book, The Obstacle Race. She mentions an Artemisia Gentileschi Annunciation (1630) in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples, which portrays an interchange between “two female figures”, typical of Artemisia depicting heroic women. There is also a reference to Suor Plautilla Nelli that ‘two ladies of Florence both owned Annunciations by her hand’; these works are lost.
My question is, since there were many nuns who painted (‘convent painters’), why weren’t there other Annunciations executed by women?
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Artemisia Gentileschi, Annunciation, Capodimonte | Photo: Wikipedia
