Artemisia Gentileschi (July 8, 1593 – c. 1656) is considered to be one of
the most accomplished painters of the Baroque period after the time of Caravaggio.
This was a time when female painters were not high up on the list of great
artists to the people of the art community. Artemisia was, however, the first female
member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence.
She
painted many scenes of myth and the Bible of women who had suffered. One of her
most painted subjects was from the Book of Judith in the Old Testament. Her most famous of these is Judith Slaying Holofernes (1611-12). Because Artemisia was herself
raped and helped prosecute her rapist, it is thought by some that she was using the
story of Judith as her own and the image is of her killing her rapist. The
Judith in the painting also bears a strong resemblance to Artemisia.
Artemisia was hardly taken seriously as an artist during her lifetime because
of the drama that surrounded her personal life. However, today she is known to be one of
the most advanced and expressionist painters of her time.
 |
| Self-Portrait, 1638-9 |
 |
| Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1611-12 |
No comments:
Post a Comment