Clio, Muse of History (Pisa)

Clio, Muse of History is a painting by the baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. It was painted around 1632, just after Artemisia had moved to Naples. It currently hangs in the Palazzo Blu, Pisa. The painting has been interpreted in relationship to Gentileschi's own career and self-image - "by including her signature in Clio's open book, Artemisia was quite literally writing herself into history". In stylistic terms, the painting demonstrates Gentileschi's borrowing from Venetian styles of painting where she "applied her colors in a free and more spontaneous fashion."
Description.
The figure depicted is Clio, the Muse of History. Cesere Ripa's "Iconologia", an important source book for artists of the time, stated that Clio should be depicted with a crown of laurels, a trumpet and an open book. Traces of earlier painting underneath the surface suggest, but cannot definitively prove, that the earlier subject was that of Fame, another figure from Ripa's Iconologia. It was not uncommon for Gentileschi to reuse or alter course during the painting of a canvas.
History.
On the book on the left of the painting the date 1632 is inscribed, along with Artemisia's name (which is written in upper case) The name of "F. Rosier" is also recorded in the inscription. This is likely to be François de Rosières, a French nobleman who had fled his home country and was living in Italy at the time.