Allegory of Inclination

Allegory of Inclination is a 1615-1617 oil on canvas painting by Artemisia Gentileschi on the ceiling of the Galleria in the Casa Buonarroti in Florence.[1]

Allegory of Inclination
ArtistArtemisia Gentileschi
Year1615-1616
MediumOil on canvas
MovementBaroque
Dimensions152 cm × 61 cm (60 in × 24 in)
LocationCasa Buonarroti, Florence

It was commissioned by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1568–1646) as part of a series of paintings to glorify the life of his great uncle, Michelangelo Buonarroti. The painting depicts a nude female figure representing "Inclination," or inborn creative ability. Seated on a cloud, she holds a mariner's compass and is guided by a star above.[2] The figure's features are similar to those in self-portraits in Gentileschi's oeuvre. The figure's nudity proved to be embarrassing to the commissioner's great-nephew Leonardo di Buonarroto, and he commissioned Baldassarre Franceschini, known as el Volterrano to paint clothes over parts of it in 1684.

References
  1. Garrard, Mary (1989). Artemisia Gentileschi. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. pp. 42–44.
  2. Perry, Gillian (1999). Gender and Art. Yale University Press. p. 76. ISBN 9780300077605.
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