The 16th Century was not an easy time to be born in Rome for an aspiring woman artist. Artemisia was the elder sister of three brothers, all children of the artist Orazio Gentileschi. Her mother died when she was only 12 years old. Life at home, however, with a father who had, of necessity, irregular habits would have been lively and she would have been exposed to the artistic style of a multitude of different painters one of whom was probably Caravaggio. There was an influence away from the bland Mannerist Renaissance style, where exaggerated artifice was the fashion, to the more naturalistic Bolognese style of the Caracci painters and the exciting realism of Caravaggio himself. Despite the limitations placed on any woman pursuing a career at that time it became clear that Artemisia was far and away the most talented artist in the family. Her life was never easy. She was raped at the age of 17, had an unsatisfactory marriage, difficulties with childbirth and money worries but she was to become the greatest woman artist of her time and ranked among the greatest painters of the Baroque period. She slipped out of public awareness after her death but recently has been rediscovered and once again achieved worldwide acclaim.