Despite sensational headlines like 'More Savage Than Caravaggio,' the work of Artemisia Gentileschi (Rome, 1593–Naples, 1654 or later) should not be defined solely by the trauma of the rape she survived or the subsequent trial she endured.

Lavinia Fontana (Bologna, 1552–Rome, 1614) is considered the first truly professional woman painter who achieved success outside a convent or royal court.

Sofonisba Anguissola (Cremona, ca. 1535–Palermo, 1625) is one of the few early modern women painters to have achieved international renown and acclaim during her lifetime.

The whole face has a life. Showing the whites of the eyes and opening the mouth in disbelief, Rembrandt’s face is acting. Or better re-acting. It’s as if I gave him a start coming from behind the corner, and he had exclaimed ‘Goodness! You gave me quite a turn, creeping up like that!’

How these two Baroque self-portraits, which resort to the personification of Painting to frame the artist as an object of admiration – or, someone may say, to divert viewers’ gaze from a face that didn’t launch a thousand ships – connect to one another despite all their notable differences?