The Life of Artemisia Gentileschi

Gortyn was a city-state populated by descendants of the Mycenaean’s and Dorian settlers. Greek city-states that were settled by Dorians including Sparta, gave greater rights to women then city-states, which instead were settled by other tribes. In Ancient Greece, it could be argued that many saw adultery as an act, which was worse than rape. The Gortyn law Code could therefore be classed as unusual as in there is a punishment albeit only financial. ‘If one commit rape on a free man or woman, he shall pay 100 staters …and if a slave on a free man or woman he shall pay double, and if a free man on a male or female serf, five drachmas, and if a serf on a male or female serf, five drachmas.’ The fine is largely determined by the difference in social status between the victim and the accused. A free man raping a slave is the lowest fine and a slave raping a free man or woman is the largest fine. Free women seem however, to have a respected place in society if raping a woman is seen as a punishable offence, which in the ancient world wasn’t always seen as that. It emphasises how Gortyn society valued omen based on what social class they adhered

“Before the rape I felt good. My life was in order. I was getting ready to get married. Afterward everything changed. I kind of lost who I was as a person…

This is when she began painting. Bored with nothing to do, she begged her father to use his paints. She had never studied art, but was able to teach herself to paint by studying paintings of the Italian Renaissance. She painted for her visitors and relatives who were willing to pose for her, and eventually wound up giving her paintings away as gifts.

Alessandro Filipepi most commonly known as Sandro Botticelli was born in Florence, Italy around 1445. Botticelli began studying under Renaissance painter Fra Filippo Lippi at the age of 16 and would go on to become one of the most acclaimed artists in Italy during his lifetime. During the Renaissance, art

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.

Similarly, the image of Madonna Enthroned was painted by Cimabue in Italy during the 13th Century, an interesting period of the country’s religious and art history. It was during the 13th Century that Italy was on the brink of a great revival known as the Renaissance. Cimabue’s work represents the best of the Byzantine Tradition. Cimabue is also the well-known teacher of Giotto, one of the leading artists of the Italian Renaissance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimabue

 It seemed as if the court almost condoned his actions and felt little pity for Artemisia.  Her paintings, at this point in her life, become drastically different.  In about 1612, she paints the first of five works of Judith and Holoferness.  The gory scene shows Holoferness, an Assyrian general being beheaded by Judith, a Jewish widow.  The scene shows ample amount of blood, however, it does not feel like a room of murder.  The killing of Holoferness by Judith is done in order to protect her homeland and life.  Also, she prays to god in order to give her the strength to do the killing.  Therefore, she felt it was justifiable.  It is a rare message for the early 1600's in that it is the woman avenging a man.  The powerful scene  of   It seems that Artemisia paints these works in order to avenge her own suffering from Tossi as well as the justice system.  By depicting such a strong and powerful woman, Artemisia is, in a sense, creating a world which she believes in.  In this world, women can speak up and women are heard.  Women are just as capable of murder, leadership, and power as any man.  Artemisia paints four more scenes of Judith and Holoferness all varying slightly.  However, her overall theme and meaning of the work is consistent.  Simply put, Judith is a woman to be looked at and respected for being a strong willed woman who stands up for what she

Mary Cassatt is known world-wide for her impressing art in which she focuses mainly in the everyday life of women and children. She is an American artist born in Pennsylvania on May 22, 1844, but later relocates to Europe in 1866 to pursue to work in art. This was mainly due to her family’s and society’s objections to women in the field of art. There she met and befriended famous Impressionist Edgar Degas. Because of her close friendship with Degas, she grew courage to continue to do art in her own way. She continued to paint until she slowly began to lose her eyesight and later died in 1926. Cassatt was part of the Impressionist style movement, in which she painted portraits unlike many others who painted landscapes (biography.com). Her artwork

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.

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.

One more painting by Artemisia in which depicts not the injustice and her fight for female integrity, but may have reflected on her own personal feelings is her Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting. The first thing one notices when looking at this picture is the darkness in color. The darkness of the room in the painting represents her reflection of her violent past, but ultimately shaping her into the woman she became. She painted herself lighter in color against the darkness of the room, looking up in hope, doing what brings her most joy in life: painting. “Artemisia’s self-portraits is not simply a matter of identifying the artist’s features in a work but also of recognizing the artist’s deliberate elision between subject and

It would be easy to assume that thousands of years later, the rape culture evident in ancient Rome would have evolved, changed significantly, or quite simply been eradicated, but in this world, there still exists many similarities between ancient Rome’s rape culture and modern rape culture. In Livy The Early History of Rome, we read the founding myths which shaped Rome. These stories include the tale of Romulus and Remus, but I will be talking about their mother, Rhea Silvia who was made into a Vestal Virgin, raped, and imprisoned, and how her story relates to the modern world. Although rape is not as pivotal in modern countries’ narratives as it was in Rome’s history, the culture and actions towards rape have remained the similar.

Known as one of the most famous female artists during the Baroque period, Artemisia Gentileschi's artworks showcase powerful emotions and drama. She was the first woman to gain acceptance into the Academy of the Arts of Drawing. In her later years, she was supported by Michelangelo the Younger and the Grand Duke Cosimo Medici. Artemisia remains an inspiration because she jumped several hurdles to gain recognition in a profession that was dominantly male at the time.

Tassi denied all the accusations and brought several witnesses to testify on his behalf, but possibly the most infuriating part of his testimony for Artemisia was when he stated that on the day of the rape he was teaching her the rules of perspective because her skills were pathetic. Nevertheless, Tassi was found guilty but regrettably only served under a year in prison.

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