Back to the art world for today’s Italian and my entry covers another woman who contributed immensely to what is called the Baroque period, Artemisia Gentileschi.
While Sofonisba Anguissola was only allowed to paint portraits, Artemisia had the opportunity to do historical and biblical events. The downside was Artemisia’s work being belatedly discovered and credited in the 20th Century; her father was often attributed to the material until then. Experts thought a woman as young as 17 couldn’t create something “mature.”
Artemisia was born in Rome around 1593 (records are hazy in this era) to Orazio and Prudentia Gentileschi. Orazio tried to train all his sons into following his line of work but it was Artemisia who proved to have the talent. So he took her on as an assistant to help him with the many commissions he received. When the time came for her to join an academy, she was rejected by them all. Orazio turned to his friend and frequent collaborator Agastonia Tassi for private tutoring. This decision became a tragic decision because Tassi eventually raped Artemisia. Orazio initially let the horrible event slide due to Tassi’s promises to divorce his wife and marry Artemisia; in the past, many cultures considered marriage the restitution for this crime. When Tassi failed to follow through after nine months, Orazio pressed charges alongside numerous other allegations like the theft of some paintings.
The trial dragged on for seven to eight months. Tassi was found guilty but Artemisia was dragged through the mud via accusations over her virtue (some crap never changes) and tortured to see if she’d change her testimony (Tassi didn’t have to suffer physical pain under oath). Again, rape in 17th Century Europe was a crime against a family’s honor, something we hear on the news with Middle Eastern cultures today. Nobody really gave a thought about the victim
There’s more to the great painter beyond this horrible, notorious event yet there’s no escaping the theory it influenced the topics of her later work. For example, her painting Judith Slaying Holofernes could be an outlet over the matter. Others say Artemisia was catering to her patrons; gory stuff was in demand. Additional works she’s known for: The Conversion of the Magdalene, Self-Portrait as a Lute Player and assisting her father in decorating the ceiling of Queen Henrietta Maria’s Greenwich house before the English Civil War.
Outside of art, Artemisia was friends with another Florentine resident you may recognize…Galileo.