Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638-39, Royal Collection Trust
See
This week we will dive into the life and work of Artemesia Gentileschi, the Revolutionary Baroque Master. Overcoming obstacles, like many modern women, Gentileschi was a powerhouse in the artworld and the world world. Using her paintings to portray women as strong and self-reliant, Artemisia's legacy reminds us that art can be a powerful tool for voice, vision, and victory over adversity.
Judith and her Maidservant, c.1615-17, oil on canvas, 114 x 93.5 cm
In this painting Gentileschi depicts the dramatic pivot point in a Baroque drama. Her subjects look over their shoulders at something off the canvas, bringing us into their experience. Judith, dressed in a brocaded, gold-trimmed gown with jewels in her hair, hoists a sword in her muscular arm. She and her maid, Abra, confidently consider their next move. It’s quintessentially Baroque: a moment of heightened emotion and import captured in a shaft of light—a picture full of action and stillness, violence and beauty.
Susanna and the Elders, 1610; oil on canvas, 170 x 121 cm.
“The ability to think for one's self depends upon one's mastery of the language.”
Hers was the language of art and at an early age Gentileschi was recognized for her precocious skills. At 17, she surpassed the skills of her teachers and she began painting biblical and mythological stories with a feminist twist. Instead of the demure, coquettish Susanna typically painted by male artists, Gentileschi's looks thoroughly disgusted by her ogling elders. As the story goes, these unscrupulous elders spied on Susanna while bathing and threatened to blackmail her if she didn't perform sexual favors for them.
Gentileschi subverted traditional depictions of the female protagonists of biblical and mythological stories presenting them as self-motivated heroines capable of making their own decisions rather than passive objects of the male gaze. In doing so she presented them in an entirely new way and this allowed them to possess a power that had been denied them by other artists. (the art story)
Judith Beheading Holofernes, c. 1620.
After being raped by her painting tutor, Agostino Tassi, at age 17, Gentileschi took him to court and though tortured with thumb screws in order to test the truthfulness of her testimony. She claimed in the transcript "I have told the truth and I always will, because it is true and I am here to confirm it wherever necessary." Tassi was found guilty and exiled from Rome. Her paintings on this theme may have helped her process her trauma and experience a sense of revenge.
Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.
In the United States today, according to a study from UMass Lowell by Assoc. Prof. Melissa Morabito and Prof. April Pattavina Ultimately, fewer than 7 percent – 189 out of 2,887 rape and sexual assault reports made to police resulted in convictions.“
Arrest is the least likely outcome, apart from the small number of reports that are determined to be unfounded,” says Prof. April Pattavina. “The fact that so few cases end in arrest is troubling, especially since we know that most victims are reluctant to go to police in the first place.” (uml.edu)
Self Portrait with Lute
'Self Portrait with Lute' was created between 1615 and 1617 for the Medici family in Florence. This painting speaks volumes about female empowerment in the 17th century. The direct gaze challenges viewers, showing confidence and self-assurance. The lute was often associated with love and harmony in Baroque art. By depicting herself as a musician, Artemisia shows her cultural sophistication. The rich clothing suggests success and prosperity is contrasted by the exposed neck and bosom. The equation of music with love and playing instruments with sexual innuendo was a common theme in art at the time. (Google Arts and Culture)
Say
What do you think Gentileschi is trying to communicate with the self portrait above? (Self Portrait with Lute)
Why might she have portrayed herself as a musician?
How might her contemporaries have received her paintings?
Make a list of words that describe yourself as a person. Gentileschi's list may have been: Self-assured, Determined, Passionate and sometimes Vulnerable
Do
Whether it's Artemisia with her lute or us with our carefully chosen filters, we're all telling our stories. The medium has changed, but the human desire to be seen and understood remains the same.
Create a self-portrait with an object that represents a different side of yourself. Would you post this side to your socials? Why or why not?
Consider giving to RAINN. Whether it is a one-time gift today or you become a monthly sustainer, at RAINN, your gift provides a safe place for sexual assault survivors to receive the support they deserve.
Stand up for something you believe in, fearlessly.
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Artemisia Gentileschi (born July 8, 1593, Rome—died 1652/53, Naples) was an Italian painter, daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, who was a major follower of the revolutionary Baroque painter Caravaggio. She was an important second-generation proponent of Caravaggio’s dramatic realism. A pupil of her father and of his friend the landscape painter Agostino Tassi, she painted at first in a style indistinguishable from her father’s somewhat lyrical interpretation of Caravaggio’s example. Her first known work is Susanna and the Elders (1610), an accomplished work long attributed to her father.
Although stylistically Artemisia Gentileschi's work owes a debt to that of Caravaggio and her father Orazio, her paintings place a greater emphasis on realism than her predecessors. Her compositions are also more energetic and during her career she carefully refined the use of texture and color, becoming known for her rich jewel hues and realistic flesh tones. the art story
A pupil of her father and of his friend the landscape painter Agostino Tassi, she painted at first in a style indistinguishable from her father’s somewhat lyrical interpretation of Caravaggio’s example. Her first known work is Susanna and the Elders (1610), an accomplished work long attributed to her father. She also painted two versions of a scene already essayed by Caravaggio (but never attempted by her father), Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1612–13; c. 1620). She was raped by Tassi, and, when he did not fulfill his promise to marry her, Orazio Gentileschi in 1612 brought him to trial. During that event she herself was forced to give evidence under torture.
Shortly after the trial she married a Florentine, and in 1616 she joined Florence’s Academy of Design, the first woman to do so. While in Florence she began to develop her own distinct style. Unlike many other women artists of the 17th century, she specialized in history painting rather than still life and portraiture. In Florence she was associated with the Medici court and painted an Allegory of Inclination (c. 1616) for the series of frescoes honouring the life of Michelangelo in the Casa Buonarotti. Her colours are more brilliant than her father’s, and she continued to employ the tenebrism made popular by Caravaggio long after her father had abandoned that style. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Learn about the 2022 restoration of the Allegory of Inclination
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