In 1637, Artemisia Gentileschi received a rare commission from the city of Pozzuoli to honor its local saints—a significant gesture for a female artist in a field dominated by men. The resulting painting, Saint Proculus of Pozzuoli and his mother Santa Nicaea, is one of the few known depictions of these early Christian martyrs, and the only one by Gentileschi. The work stands as a testament to the artist’s reputation in Naples, where she had recently established herself after years in Rome and Florence.

Its creation marked a moment when Gentileschi was actively sought after by civic and religious patrons, signaling her acceptance into the Neapolitan artistic elite. The scene unfolds at the very threshold of martyrdom: Saint Proculus, clad in a Roman soldier’s attire, stands protectively beside his mother, Santa Nicaea, whose calm yet resolute gaze meets the viewer’s. The heavy chain draped across Proculus’s wrists signals his imminent arrest, while Nicaea’s hand, gently resting on her son’s arm, conveys both maternal support and shared faith. Light falls dramatically on their faces, a hallmark of Gentileschi’s style, heightening the emotional tension and drawing the eye to their expressions of courage.

Unlike the more static, distant portrayals by artists such as Giovanni Lanfranco, Gentileschi chooses intimacy and immediacy, inviting viewers into the private moment of resolve before suffering. The painting’s subsequent history is less well documented than its creation. While the original commission was intended for Pozzuoli, the current whereabouts of Saint Proculus of Pozzuoli and his mother Santa Nicaea remain uncertain, and the medium itself is not definitively recorded. Scholars continue to debate its attribution due to the lack of early documentation and the rarity of the subject in Gentileschi’s oeuvre.

Nevertheless, the work is now recognized as a significant example of her Neapolitan period, reflecting both her technical skill and her ability to infuse lesser-known saints with psychological depth and humanity.