Artemisia Gentileschi is one of the few female artists whose name and work have survived in modern times. She lived during a period when women were considered inferior to men and thus not capable of creating serious art. The daughter of a painter, she managed to establish herself as an artist, one of the first women to do so and was rediscovered by feminist art historians in the 20th century. In fact Chadwick (2007, 100) says that Artemisia ‘is the first woman artist in the history of Western art whose historical significance is unquestionable’. Her life was not easy and establishing herself as a painter was a marvelous task in itself. Gentileschi’s experiences in life, as a woman in a male-dominated world, are clearly shown in her art, and particularly through the robust and strong women she depicts.
Very few women artists were known from the Renaissance and the Baroque periods, and these are often treated as exceptions and not the rule by art historians. Feminist scholars like Whitney Chadwick have tried to change this perception in the later decades of the 20th century, even arguing that there have been great women artists, but their names were forgotten by a society that did not see their art as important (Chadwick, 2007, 22). Women were considered inferior to men and were expected to stay in their homes, subjects first to their fathers and then to their husbands. Genius and greatness have always been attributes of men, and so has the word artist, which, according to Chadwick (2007, 28), is only associated with females if the word woman/women is added first. Equally, for a long period of time it was thought that “artists were male and white, and art a learned discourse”, while “women are objects of representation rather than producers” (Chadwick, 2007, 8). As art was learned, women were excluded from the Academies of art and could not therefore get a proper artistic education like their male colleagues (Chadwick, 2007, 38). Instead, most women artists until at least the 18th century were trained and worked in the workshops of their fathers, brothers or husbands. Even then, women were often accused of not producing serious works of art themselves, as it was believed that women were not capable of creating high art and were only able to imitate great works of art or make insignificant craftworks (Chadwick, 2007, 24).
It was in this social environment that Artemisia Gentileschi lived and worked. Her father, Orazio, was a painter himself and quite successful in his time, as he was considered one of the most important followers of Caravaggio (Chadwick, 2007, 100). He taught his four children his craft. Among them however, Artemisia seems to have been the most gifted. By her late teens she was emerging as a skilled painter (Cohen, 2000). In his family home, Orazio welcomed friends, colleagues and potential customers. In 1611, one of these colleagues, Agostino Tassi took advantage of his position and raped the 17 year-old Artemisia, promising to marry her (Cohen, 2000). One year later, her father went against the man and a trial followed. Tassi was convicted but never served his sentence (Cohen, 2000). Historians suggest that the rape was not only ‘a violation of Artemisia’s body but a penetration of Orazio’s honor that brought shame to his whole family’ (Christiansen and Mann, 2001, 264). Although Artemisia married the following year and moved with her painter-husband to Florence in 1613, it has long been believed that the events of 1611 left a permanent mark in her life and are reflected in her work. Gentileschi went on to enjoy a prolific career that took her to many Italian cities and even England, when in the 1630’s she resided in the royal court (Cohen, 2000). She was able to support her family through her work, even after her husband left her, and managed to make a name of herself as an artist throughout Europe (Cohen, 2000). She died in Naples in the 1650’s, well known and admired (Cohen, 2000). She was one of the few women to have achieved that before the 20th century.
Gentileschi’s experiences as a woman in a male-dominated world have influenced the artist’s work. In fact her painting, Esther before Ahasuerus created in c 1630 shows that she was well aware and even sarcastic of the ideas about women that were held almost religiously by the society in which she lived. Christiansen (2010) suggests that the artist was able to take a well known biblical story and turn it to a critique of social ideas about women. The way Esther tries to convince the Persian king not to destroy her family is a direct reference to the belief that women should use their beauty to gain things from a man. In order to make her message even more explicit, the artist dressed her subjects not in historical biblical costumes, but in 17th century clothes (Christiansen 2010).
The rape Artemisia Gentileschi endured in her teenage years is also believed to have influenced her art. This is perhaps the most discussed aspect of Gentileschi’s life, and its relation to her later career has been an issue of great debated among scholars. Mary Garrard attempted with her 1989 book to see this relation in a more balanced way, suggesting that one should be careful not to see everything in Gentileschi’s work as a result of her rape (Garrard, 1991). Nevertheless, Judith slaying Holofernes is still interpreted as a visual revenge to the man who raped her (Christiansen and Mann, 2001, 249). Judith is depicted as a strong woman in the process of decapitating Holofernes. The scene is violent and powerful and puts a woman in charge of the events. This was not the only occasion Gentileschi used the story of Judith in her work. It seems that the story fascinated her. In every painting with this theme, Judith has the same characteristics of strength and bravery that go against the stereotypes of (Christiansen and Mann, 2001, 332).
This was not the only painting in which Gentileschi chose to depict strong women. Even when depicting nude females, the painter minimized all erotic elements and created a new style for them, emphasizing their strong characteristics and giving them heroic attributes (Christiansen and Mann, 2001, 272). The work of Gentileschi is full of female characters that can and should be admired for their strength and bravery. It is believed that these were women Artemisia could relate with (Christiansen and Man, 2001, 373). She was after all a strong woman, able to work in order to support her family, brave enough not to need a man by her side and able to make a name for herself during a period when very few women could do so. She even managed to achieve more fame than her father had as a painter. The self confidence that she had acquired is most evident in the Self-portrait as the Allegory of Painting created in the 1630’s. Gentileschi did not just paint herself in the process of painting, but presented herself as a personification of painting (Chadwick, 2007, 113). As Chadwick (2007, 113) suggests, this was the first time in the history of Western art that a female artist chose not to represent herself as a gentlewoman, ‘but as the act of painting itself’. Her choice to do so shows how she saw herself and how much self assurance she had acquired at that stage of her career. In this painting she becomes one of the strong, admirable women she so often depicted in her art. In 1630 she had established herself in Naples, where she enjoyed the life of a celebrity and the patronage of many noble families (Chadwick, 2007, 113). A few years later she would be welcomed in the court of the English king Charles I receiving royal commissions. Naturally, she had every reason to be proud of herself.
Artemisia Gentileschi was a remarkable person and a remarkable artist, a great example of a female painter in the history of Western art. She managed to establish herself in a male-dominated field –and society- and become famous and successful in her own right. Her experiences in life are reflected in her work and this is perhaps one of the reasons that make it unique.
REFERENCES
Chadwick, W. (2007). Women, Art and Society. London: Thames and Hudson.
Christiansen, K. (2010). Artemisia Gentileschi's Esther Before Ahasuerus. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved from: http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/features/2010/artemisia-gentileschis-esther-before-ahasuerus
Christiansen, K., and Mann, J.W. (2001). Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Cohen, E. S. (2000). The trials of Artemisia Gentileschi: a rape as history. Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 31, 47-75.
Garrard, M.D. (1991). Artemisia Gentileschi: The Image of the Female Hero in Italian Baroque Art. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Constructive feedback
How well does the paper address women, art, and western civilization?
The paper deals with one female artist, however there is an attempt to look into the role of women in Western civilization during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
How well are the opening paragraph and the thesis statement constructed?
I think that the opening paragraph and the thesis statement are clear and introduce the subject well.
How well are the ideas organized? Are there any ways that the author can use to improve the current organization?
I believe the paper is well organized.
How well is the topic developed so far? Are there any points that the author should develop further? Is there any excessive or irrelevant information that can be trimmed down to make the focus of the paper stronger?
I believe that there are some points that could be developed further, especially in the main body of the argument that deals with Gentileschi’s work.
Are there any other writing or research elements that the author should consider in order to improve the outcome of the research?
Perhaps one or two additional references could help.
