It took a long time for Danaë to be attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi, Queen of the Baroque.

There are some critics who believed her father, Orazio Gentileschi, painted it. Is it still considered a slap in the face if your work is mistaken for that of your dad’s? Maybe if he wasn’t your teacher, as Orazio taught Artemisia. At the time of this painting, Artemisia worked in her father’s workshop, so I guess we can’t blame the scholars for being confused on this one. The dimpled knuckles should’ve given it away, as many of Gentileschi’s women have this feature. Danaë is one of the earlier works in Gentileschi’s repertoire, and it is heavily influenced by Orazio's style. She was only nineteen when she painted it. 

Danaë was discovered in 1986, where it was sitting in a private collection. In 1993, the St. Louis Museum (who acquired the painting in ‘86) changed Danaë’s attribution to Artemisia. After all, Gentileschi is all about painting famous mythological, and biblical women. There was Cleopatra, Mary Magdalen, Esther, and now princess Danaë. Danaë’s pose is even similar to Artemisia’s Cleopatra.

As the story goes, Danaë was to bear a child who would go on to kill King Acrisius of Argos, Danaë’s father. This prophecy had Danaë locked up in a chamber only Zeus could break through – which he did by transforming himself into gold. (There's not a lot Zeus wouldn't do to have at a helpless naked lady). The Zeus gold falls on Danaë’s body, and rests between her thighs, and she also clutches some in her right hand. Well, then the thing the king attempted to prevent happening happened: Danaë fell pregnant by Zeus with Perseus, who did in fact end up killing his grandfather. Perseus would also eventually be the guy to take down Medusa. 

There’s so much drama packed around this painting that it should be a HBO limited series special. During this time, there was a trial against Artemisia’s rapist, the landscape artist Agostino Tassi. The case was brought before the pope’s court by Orazio, who had worked closely with Tassi in the papal summer palace. It is often suggested Artemisia’s history of sexual violence influenced her subject matter, and Danaë wouldn’t be the last subject dealing with it; she celebrates a moment of vengeance in Judith Beheading Holofernes.

The subject of Danaë has been painted by many artists, including Orazio, Correggio, Rembrandt and Titian.