Sheila Barker

Artemisia Gentileschi is a new name for me, sort of. I know I didn’t study her paintings when I was in high school, and that I found out about her a few years ago, thanks to a Tumblr post. I’m sure I have it saved somewhere because it was interesting: it talked about Susanna and the Elders, about how the original drawing was more vivid, harsher.

[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups]… (meer)

Artemisia Gentilesch’s newly restored painting Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes will be the centerpiece of the Detroit Institute of Art’s 2022 exhibit By Her Hand: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500-1800. I already have our tickets!

I first learned of this artist in Susan Vreeland’s novel The Passion of Artemisia. I was curious to gain a deeper understanding of her art before viewing the exhibit.

Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi, Detroit Institute of Art
Sheila Barker’s book Artemisia Gentileschi provided me with an excellent biography and critical insight into Artemisia’s work.

This book is part of Getty’s Illuminating Women Artists: Renaissance and Baroque, a series which “considers early modern women artists within their social, cultural, temporal, and geographic contexts.” Barker notes that much has been written about Artemisia Gentileschi over the centuries, beginning in her lifetime. And yet, there are “large voids” of unknown time in her life. “How Artemisia stood with respect to her society’s view of womanhood is…one of the main questions driving this book,” the author notes.

Considering the social constraints that women had to live with in the 16th c, it helped that Artemisia’s father, Orsini Gentileschi, was a successful artist, and their relationship was likely closer due to the early death of her mother. Her gift was first identified when she designed and embroidered an elaborate design on a skirt.

She likely first learned to paint by observing her father painting. I can imagine it as my mother took up oil painting when I was six or seven and I watched her as she explained how she mixed the oil paints and worked on her paintings. Mom soon set me up to do my own painting.

The art of Caravaggio was revolutionary, and father and daughter studied his methods together, painting on a dark ground.

The teenage Artemisia was raped by another artist, Agostino Tassi, who made false promises to keep her silent. Nine months later, Orazio took Tassi to court and Artemisia defended herself in the trial. Her father soon married her off, making sure she kept control over her dowry. Her husband’s family expected that Artemisia as an artist would generate the money for the family.

Artemisia’s history paintings depicted Biblical females, including Susanna and the Elders, the story of a young woman bathing in her private yard while lecherous men watch. It is chilling to think of her painting the story of rape, herself a victim. She also painted the virgin Mary, Judith Beheading Holofernes, Mary Magdalene, Bathsheba. The themes allowed her to show the female body and women who were strong and capable and spiritual equals.

Artemisia relocated from Rome to Florence in 1613, her husband a citizen of Florence. She hoped to become a painter for the Medici court. It was a difficult time; she lost a newborn baby, didn’t have a proper studio, and was intent on replicating Caravaggio’s style. She was aided by family, gambling on her artistic promise. By 1614, she was working on three paintings for Cosimo II. One was a self-portrait.

Her patrons include Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger who commissioned her Allegory of Inclination, another facial self-portrait, showcasing her ability on depicting the female nude.

By 1619 she and her husband appear to have been living apart and she assumed fiscal and legal responsibility for herself.

The Grand Duke had planned for his wife and mother to become regents for his underage son upon his death. He needed to bolster the public’s acceptance of female leadership and so promoted ideals of strong women leaders. In her art, Artemisia’s women, therefore, were also political renderings.

Artemisia traveled to Venice and finally to London where her father had been painting for the court of Charles I. With the English Civil War and the death of Charles I, his art collection sold off, some of her art was lost. One work created during this time was her Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting and the political Esther Before Ahasuerus.

I will show your Lordship what a woman can do…You will find the spirit of Caesar in this soul of a woman…”

Letter from Artemisia Gentileschi to her patron Don Antonio Ruffo
I was impressed by this resilient, strong female artist. Barker’s analysis of the paintings were extremely enlightening and I know that when I see the exhibit, I will have a deeper appreciation.

I was given access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.… (meer)

Artemisia Gentileschi by Sheila Barker is the second volume in the Illuminating Women Artists series from Getty Publications and is an informative and beautiful addition.

Though one of the better known women artists of the past Gentileschi is still mostly known in outline by casual art lovers. This book serves to tell both her life story and her artistic development in as coherent a manner as possible. I found the weaving of her personal life, the society in which she lived, and her artistic response to both absolutely intriguing.

There is enough biography here to satisfy those wanting to know more about the artist yet there is plenty of art history and analysis to satisfy those mostly interested in the art itself. Shedding more light on the often overlooked and/or ignored women artists makes this a series to keep an eye on. I have been pleased with both volumes so far.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (meer)