Artesmisia Gentileschi (17th century Italian artist)

Wed, 04/02/2008 - 5:54pm by maisiegirl

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Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1652/1653), is a painter, and the daughter of well-known Roman artist, Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639), and was one of the first women artists to achieve recognition in the male-dominated world of post-Renaissance art. In an era when female artists were limited to portrait painting and imitative poses, she was the first woman to paint major historical and religious scenarios.

Born in Rome in 1593, she received her early training from her father. Her father's influence can be seen in her work and she mastered her sense of rich colors after spending time in Florence walking by all the fabric dyers and one really can see how she captured rich color, but also mastered the movement of fabrics on the body. After art academies rejected her, she continued study under a friend of her father, Agostino Tassi.

In 1612, her father brought suit against Tassi for raping Artemisia. There followed a highly publicised seven-month trial. This event makes up the central theme of a controversial French film, Artemisia (1998), directed by Agnes Merlet.

The trauma of the rape and trial impacted on Artemisia's painting. Her graphic depictions were cathartic and symbolic attempts to deal with the physical and psychic pain.

The heroines of her art, especially Judith, are powerful women exacting revenge on such male evildoers as the Assyrian general Holofernes. Her style was heavily influenced by dramatic realism and marked chiaroscuro (contrasting light and dark) of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1573 - 1610).

After her death, she drifted into obscurity, her works often attributed to her father or other artists. Art historian and expert on Artemisia, Mary D. Garrard notes that Artemisia "has suffered a scholarly neglect that is unthinkable for an artist of her calibre." Renewed and overdue interest in Artemisia in recent years has recognized her as a talented seventeenth-century painter and one of the world's greatest female artists.

The first book devoted to her, Artemisia Gentileschi - The Image of The Female Hero in Italian Baroque Art. by Mary D. Garrard, was issued in 1989; her first exhibition was held in Florence in 1991. A TV documentary, a play and, more recently, a film have advanced her notoriety . Recently, the historical fiction novel, "The Passion of Artemisia," by Susan Vreeland brought attention to Artemisia's work to art-lovers throughout the world. Vreeland's book, "The Passion of Artemisia" is a fun read and inspired me to seek out Gentileschi's paintings in Italy and New York.

Her works can be found at the Spada Gallery in Rome, Italy. In Florence her works are in the Pitti Palace, the Uffizi, and Casa Buonarroti. Of course, there are other museums that display her work such as the Met in NYC, Prado in Madrid, London, the Capodimonte in Naples, Italy, etc. Her father's work can be seen in the Louvre and other world-famous museums as well.

Self-portrait (1630s, Royal Collection, London, England)