This article is part of our series marking 200 years of the National Gallery. In contrast to her earlier Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, here the painter is representing her true artist-self. Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria was acquired by the National Gallery in 2018, and is its only painting by Gentileschi. Gentileschi’s Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria has been meticulously restored under the gallery’s care, before going on display alongside works by her father Orazio Gentileschi and Caravaggio. Within Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (La Pittura) and Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, she represents two sides of herself.
