Power And Power In Judith Slaying Holofernes By Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi is one of the first women, Roman artists to achieve recognition in the art world after the Renaissance art era. Gentileschi was born on July 8 1593 in Rome, Italy to Orazio Gentileschi in the Baroque period. She is most famous for her work on “Madonna and Child”,and “Judith Slaying Holofernes”. Gentileschi developed her artistic skills at a very young age with the help of her father, Orazio, who was a very well known and accomplished painter. Gentileschi had a very hard child

Judith Slaying Holofernes 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

found as the subjects of such pieces. In the Baroque era, Artemisia Gentileschi was able to break through such boundaries and produce an important piece to the early feminist agenda. Being the daughter of a painter allowed her access to the material and experience needed to become an accomplished artist. Following the scarring rape by one of her father’s older associates, Artemisia painted her view on the portrayal of Judith Slaying Holofernes. The grisly moment is captured with hard-hitting realism

Artemisia Gentileschi and Edgar Allan Poe both wanted one thing, but they expressed it in different ways. Edgar Allan Poe appealed to us logically, through writing, while Artemisia Gentileschi expressed it with her emotions, visually. As stated by Dr. Lynell Burmark, Winner of Stanford University’s prestigious Walter Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching: “…unless our words, concepts, ideas are hooked onto an image, they will go in one ear, sail through the brain, and go out the other ear. Words

Artemisia Gentileschi is unarguably a key player in the acceptance of women artists in a previously male dominated field. She was the first female member of the Academia del Disegno also known as the Academy of Design. This was a high honor for a woman of her day. Overcoming many hardships in her relationships, and even drawing inspiration from them, she became known for the excellence and the unique way she portrayed popular subjects in her artwork. Contemporary art critics have taken notice of

Some females chose to paint the same scenes as the male artist did just to speak up for feminism. For example Artemisia Gentileschi painting the same biblical scene, entitled Judith Beheading Holofernes, that artist Caravaggio painted. Both paintings show the same scene of Judith slaying Holfernes with the maidservant in the room as well as both pictures are painted with realism. Although they are the same scenes there are many differences portrayed

by a dark background, the depiction of motion and facial expressions, the rendering of high detail, the naturalistic rather than ideal figures, the enlarges sense of space, the aim to create a dramatic effect, the theme of religion, the display of power and dramatic intensity, and the appealing to the spirit through the senses. The subject matter of the Baroque Era was often of religious scenes. The term Baroque originally meant overdone – too many notes in music,

Art of the Renaissance was a manifestation of the renewal of the appreciation for the individual, that was not seen in the Middle Ages. Although the period of history when the Renaissance occurred is received as an event that did not genuinely transpire, because it only reached a minimal portion of the population, the Renaissance was still the embodiment of the transition of thinking towards secularism, individualism, and humanism that shaped the art of the time. Instead of seeking refuge in the

through powerful contrasts of “light-dark,” also known as chiaroscuro. One of the most prominent female artists of this time period, Artemisia Gentileschi, used this technique to create her art piece, “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” by combining a Caravaggist focal point and overtone through facial expressions which depict theatrical emotion in representing rare female power.

were expected during that time. However, she has an unhappy expression on her face probably as a result of doing the same thing every day. On the contrary, in Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi you can see two strong women taking control and justice into their own hands. In the painting Judith and her maid are beheading Holofernes who invaded Judith’s country. The content of this painting is shocking not only because of what it portrays, but because it