A cosmopolitan artist and a sophisticated interpreter of Caravaggesque naturalism, Orazio Gentileschi (Pisa 1562 – London 1640) was a leading figure on the seventeenth-century painting scene. His refined, luminous, and erudite art earned him the favor of Europe’s most illustrious courts, from Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy and Marie de’ Medici to Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England.

Edited by Annamaria Bava and Gelsomina Spione, this volume reconstructs Gentileschi’s complete artistic trajectory, focusing on the theme of travel: from his early years in Tuscany and Rome and his encounter with Caravaggio, to his experiences in Genoa and France, and finally his role as court painter in London, where he competed with Rubens and Van Dyck. The idea of travel—geographical, artistic, and human—guides the reader through the key stages of his career and his relationships with patrons, collectors, and diverse artistic contexts.

At the heart of the exhibition is the monumental Annunciation of 1623, an absolute masterpiece of his maturity, created for the Duke of Savoy. Featuring international loans, unpublished documents, and a renewed critical perspective, this monograph aims to become an essential reference for understanding the complex trajectory of an artist who was, in the truest sense of the word, European.