FRANCESCO FURINI | ARTEMISIA

Private Mid-West collection;

Acquired by a private collector, Chicago, by circa 1985;

Thence by descent.

In this dramatically lit scene, Francesco Furini renders the beautiful figure of Artmesia in a moment of reflection. The dedicated widow looks towards a golden cup filled in part with the ashes of her husband, Mausolus, drinking of the mixture to make her body a living tomb. Known in a few versions, this particular composition proved popular for the Florentine artist from about the mid-1630s until the end of his career.¹

1. Other examples are known in the collection of Mina Gregori, G. Luzzetti, and the Museo Horne, among others. See G. Cantelli, Francesco Furini e I Furiniani, Florence 2010, pp. 118-119, cat. nos. 39, 40, 40A, 31.