Artemisia Gentileschi

>Artemisia Gentileschi 2005-04-11T14:15:49Z Xezbeth recat [[Image:GENTILESCHI Judith.jpg|right|thumb|350px|''[[Book of Judith|Judith]] Beheading [[Holofernes]]'' (1612-21) Oil on canvas 199 x 162 cm Galleria degli [[Uffizi]], Florence]] '''Artemisia Gentileschi''' ([[July 8]], [[1593]] - [[1653]]) is today considered one of the most accomplished Early [[Baroque]] painters in the generation influenced by [[Michelangelo Merisi|Caravaggio]] (the ''"Caravaggisti"''). Remarkably, in an era when women painters were not easily accepted, she became the first female painter to become a member of the [[Accademia dell' Arte del Disegno]] in Florence. She was also the first female artist to paint history and religious paintings, at a time when such heroic themes were considered beyond a mere woman's reach. Born in Rome, she was the eldest daughter of painter [[Orazio Gentileschi]] (b. 1563 in [[Pisa]]- d. 1639 in [[London]]). Artemisia was tutored in art by her father from a young age and at age 17, she produced her first dated and signed work “Susanna and The Elders”. At age 19, when she was denied access to the all-male professional academies for art, her father hired [[Agostino Tassi]] to tutor her privately. In 1612, Artemisia was raped by Tassi, and even though Tassi initially promised to marry Artemisia in order to restore her reputation, he later reneged on his promise. Artemisia’s father sued Tassi for rape. In the ensuing seven-month trial, it was discovered that Tassi had allegedly planned to murder his wife, had committed incest with his sister-in-law and planned to steal some of Orazio’s paintings. During the trial Artemisia was given a gynecological examination and was tortured using a device made of thongs wrapped around the fingers and tighted by degrees-- a particularly cruel torture to a painter. Both procedures were used to corroborate the truth of her allegation, the torture device in the belief that if a person can tell the same story under torture as without it, the story must be true. At the end of the trial Tassi was imprisoned for one year. After the trial, Artemisia married florentine artist [[Pietro Antonio Stiattesi]] and moved to [[Florence]] in 1613. She received a commission for a painting at [[Casa Buonarroti]] and became a successful court painter, enjoying the patronage of the [[Medici]] and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]. She returned to Rome briefly in 1621 but eventually moved to Naples, where she spent the remainder of her life. She gave birth to five children, only one of whom, a daughter, lived to adulthood. After her death in 1651, she slipped into obscurity. Many of Artemisia's work exhibit dark and violent themes, in particular her paintings of ''Judith Beheading Holofernes''. The darkness and graphic violence of her paintings are attributed to her rape and the subsequent humiliating trial. Her paintings often express the point of view of the female protagonist, and her style of painting is very much influenced by [[Michelangelo Merisi|Caravaggio]]. == External link == *http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/g/gentiles/artemisi/ * [http://www.arlindo-correia.com/180501.html Biography ] [[Category:1593 births|Gentileschi, Artemisia]] [[Category:1651 deaths|Gentileschi, Artemisia]] [[Category:Italian painters|Gentileschi, Artemisia]] [[Category:Baroque painters|Gentileschi, Artemisia]] [[Category:Women in art|Gentileschi, Artemisia]] [[de:Artemisia Gentileschi]] [[fr:Artemisia Gentileschi]] [[it:Artemisia Gentileschi]] [[nl:Artemisia Gentileschi]]