Women in the Fine Arts

What it is

This is a book written in 1904 by Clara Erskine Clement, surveying women artists through history. It includes an entry on Artemisia Gentileschi, noting that she married and lived in Naples, and that several of her letters still existed at the time of writing.

Why it matters

Written nearly 250 years after Gentileschi's lifetime, this book reflects how later historians worked to recover and record the achievements of women artists who had often been overlooked. It shows what was known and believed about Gentileschi's life in the early 20th century, based on evidence such as her surviving letters.

• Why might a book written in 1904 be considered a secondary rather than primary source about Gentileschi?
• What value do a historical figure's own letters have that a later book does not?
• Why might historians in the early 1900s have wanted to write specifically about women artists?