Artemisia Gentileschi Research Paper

Women in Renaissance Italy faced rigid societal standards to which they were supposed to conform. They lived public lives, directed almost exclusively by other people in regards to significant decisions. However, this does not mean that a rise above the oppressive nature of the Renaissance was impossible. Several exceptional women were able to challenge their given positions in a society through their education, practices, seclusion, beauty, and roles. In an examination of several positions, through the Exhortations to Women and to Others If They Please by Lucrezia Marinella and the letters of Laura Cereta, a Renaissance feminist, women can be seen as accepting of their position in society or rebelling against it. Their lives and prescriptive writings show how one can either follow the role given to them or exceed beyond it and become an exceptional woman.

Some of my themes will include fetishism, sexual desire through artworks, the image of women being no more than the male “other” and symbolism creating narratives by the artists themselves. I will focus on one particular Italian artist; Titian whose work exemplifies the subject through his pieces including one titled Venus of Urbino: a 1538 oil painting. I will also focus on readings by Laura Mulvey and Norman Bryson stating the ideas in which women throughout history in paintings and the more recent films and advertising, are typically the subjected objects. The power of men over women is exhibited in many linguistic senses whether it’s through terms or symbols, there is always a comparison that exists between men and women.

Artemisia Gentileschi was not the first to paint Judith Slaying Holofernes. Her father had painted Judith. Michelangelo, Botticelli and Caravaggio had painted Judith. Donatello had sculpted Judith. But she was the first to interpret the story of Judith, in a time when women had few rights, as an allegory for female dominance. In comparison with other contemporary versions, the composition, dramatic style, and emotions of the characters present a violently feminist view that may have stemmed from Gentileschi's own experiences.

Another interesting commonality between the two is that Anguissola’s mother died when she was around 4 or 5. Similarly, Gentileschi lost her mother at a young age, when she was around 12 years old. Gentileschi must have struggled more as a result than her fortunate predecessor, as she was not from prestigious family. Her father was a fairly well-known artist who worshipped Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio’s style, especially his use of tenebrism. This adoration was imparted to his daughter Artemisia, who often copied this style. Intriguingly, there is a bizarre connection even in this. There is some rumor that a drawing that Anguissola had sent to the famed artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (the more famous one), had ended up in a notebook belonging to Giorgio Vasari, and is suspected to have been discovered by Caravaggio, which later inspired his painting ‘Boy Bitten by a Lizard’. There is a clear connection through time between these two women. Yet, in a way seems to have been founded through pure chance and phenomenon. As hard as it is to believe, this is not the only person who intertwines these women together. Anthony Van Dyke visited Anguissola when she was very old, and blind, but spent hours

Artemisia Gentileschi is believed to have been born around 1593 and died around 1652.  Both dates are disputed to the current day.  She was one of five children and was born into the life of an artist.  Her father, who was an artist as well, loved her greatly.  Her mother died when she was twelve.  Artemisia was always a skilled painter, but her father wanted even more for her daughter.  While her works were already amazing for her age, she needed artistic guidance in order to further her skills.  One man who was hired as a tutor was named Agostino Tossi.  Tossi almost immediately was an annoying presence in the house frustrating Artemisia.  However, in 1610,

Italian Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi was born in Rome on July 8th, 1593. Her father Orazio Gentileschi, who was a painter himself, introduced Artemisia to the art of painting by giving her lessons in his studio. At an early age, Artemisia displayed her interest in art and it wasn’t long until her father noticed potential in his daughter enough that she would be able to make a name for herself in the male-dominated career. Artemisia had the desire to follow in her father’s footsteps, it was then that Orazio encouraged her to follow her dreams and decided to begin training her as an artist.

Artemisia continued an affair with Agostino under the promise of marriage, when the marriage never happened, her father brought charges against Tassi and a trial ensued, to which Artemisia was tortured during a gynecological examination for the trial. Again life imitating art and a testament toward the women depicted in her paintings. Miss Gentileschi married a man named Pierantonio Stiattesi and they moved to Florence. As mentioned, Artemisia had 5 children, however only her daughter Prudentia survived into adulthood. After her mother's death in 1656, Prudentia disappeared from history.

Why exactly is Artemisia Gentileschi considered an early feminist? Doing a brief search and looking into her artwork, even for a brief amount of time and you quickly see why she was considered so. Her gender as well as the things she went through and experienced in her life heavily influenced Artemisia Gentileschi’s artwork. Some of the more famous and controversial paintings focus on females as being the main protagonist. There is plenty of controversy surrounding the paintings as well, since her father Orazio Gentileschi a painter in his own right trained her. Some of her early paintings are questioned and he is given credit for them.

Nanette Salomon, a very well known feminist writer, wrote the article, “Judging Artemisia: A Baroque Woman in Modern Art History.” The article opens up with a discussion about the 2001-2 exhibition of Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi: Father and Daughter Painters in Baroque Italy. The author explains that three things are unusual here: the fact that two famous artists were presented at the same time, that they were related as father and daughter, and the fact that the woman was better known than the man. Her intent in this article is to look at the effects of this trope (figure of speech) in the past and in the present.

Most times women were not taught how to read and write so the fact that Gliki took inspiration from her childhood and her father’s teachings she was able to become the woman that she was. Reading about this in our book made my view on the subject widen more than ever before, rather than just looking at one gender and how that one gender affected the seventeenth century. Women in the Jewish religion were able to do more than women who practiced other religions. One example, Catholic women could not do many things like for example, “Although every convent had to have a priest available to say Mass and hear confessions because the Catholic Church ruled these were functions that no woman could perform, all of the other administrative duties and much of the spiritual counseling of novices and residents were carried out by women” (209

The social role and stature of women has been an eternal topic. In an age when the images of women were expected to be associated with marriage, motherhood, and domestic matters, few Americans could have thought of a young woman from an upper-middle class family would pursue professional study of art in Europe in the late nineteenth century. Yet, praises and critics both fall on the young artist, Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926). In this paper, I will show how two historians contrast about the their views of this feminine artist, as well as their methodological approaches.

The passage that I read is about renowned female Baroque (and Renaissance) painter Artemisia Gentileschi.She was taught by her father at a young age. However, as a teenager, Gentileschi was sexually assaulted by another artist and friend of her neighbor, Agostino Tassi. Later on in her life, she returned to painting and married painter Pietro Stiattesi. They eventually separated, and Artemisia lived a life of self-reliance and independence. Her art emphasized classical and biblical themes, but also focused on stories, especially of women. She also used female characters as metaphors to convey themes like oppression, suffering, injustice, and triumphs of women. Gentileschi gained popularity soonafter, and became the first woman to be admitted

Considered one of the most important artists of the Baroque movement in Early Modern Europe, Artemisia Gentileschi, had to prove herself and break down the boundaries for a woman in a male dominated field. Artemisia was born in Rome on July 8, 1953 to Orazio and Prudentia Monotone Gentileschi, who died when the artist was only twelve years of age. Her upbringing was left to her father, who was also a well-known painter. He trained her since she was not permitted to learn in the studios of successful artists of the moment. Orazio introduced his daughter to the working artists of Rome including Caravaggio, whose tenebrism technique and chiaroscuro style had a great influence on her paintings.

Artemisia Gentileschi’s Venus and Cupid is a painting of an angel caressing a woman resting on the bed. In actuality, the painting is about Venus, the Goddess of Love, who is asleep in a very luxurious and classical environment. While she is asleep, Cupid diligently wields a peacock-feathered fan to keep away pests, which makes the environment more safe and peaceful. Primarily strong contrasting lights and darkness display Gentileschi’s work, perhaps inspired by both her father and Caravaggio. Her paintings are all primarily bold compositions for example the

This period housed many depictions of the Virgin Mary, including Cimabue’s Enthroned Madonna and Child. Mary was seen as the perfect example of feminine virtue, showing chastity, piety, humility, and maternity. Images of the Madonna, or Mary, whether sculpture or painting, encouraged women to live up to her. Mary wasn’t the only woman that was looked up to in Renaissance art. Women could be portrayed as witches, saints, temptresses, or members of the working class, and their image would still be an encouragement to dress and behave properly. (Jacobs)