Artemisia Gentileschi is considered to be one of the great painters of the Baroque era, and is especially venerated for her mastery of the Caravaggesque style. Her power as an artist comes not only from her technical and creative capabilities, but also from her acute understanding of and involvement in theoretical discourse on painting and the genius of the artist. Known for her vigorous depictions of powerful Biblical heroines that do not conform to typical images of femininity and through the intensity of the Caravaggesque style, Gentileschi’s work can be considered quintessentially Baroque. As is the burden of many female artists, her work has consistently been read through the lens of her personal life and her sexuality. At the age of seventeen Gentileschi was assaulted by her painting instructor, Agostino Tassi. Much of her work has been read through the context of the trauma, particularly in her depictions of Judith and Susanna. Rozsika Parker and Griselda Pollock put it thusly: “Confronted by the expressive, powerful or victimized images of Gentileschi’s women, writers have been unable to fit her paintings into the usual feminine stereotype: they cannot trace the expected signs of femininity, weakness, gracefulness or delicateness. Thus, unable to put her work into a stereotype, they turn instead to the dramatic events of her life” (10) While there is validity in reading her strong heroines as reactions towards her sexual assault, it is important to recognize Gentileschi was part of a far more nuanced dialogue about the position of the artist as well as women in the Baroque era. Her life is often fictionalized and sensationalized, further feminizing her and created a greater void between her and her male counterparts. While... ... middle of paper ... ...elf in action and refuses to depict her body as a passive signifier for artistic perfection. In this she refutes the image of woman as one to inspire but not create art and reaffirms her agency. She also soundly rejects the concept of design being dependant on the perfection of the female form, critiquing the use of the inactive female body as a metaphor for man’s artistic genius. Being deeply absorbed in her work, the artist does not even address the audience, her face looking towards the work and not the viewer. Perhaps this is a direct response to the eroticization of owning a painting produced by a woman; the representation’s realism prevents the presumably male audience from viewing her face in entirety. Her body is shown in action and foreshortened, removing any possibility for it to be compared to the perfectly proportioned female figures so often used to
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654?) was one of the most important women artists before the modern period and certainly one of the most famous female painters from the seventeenth century. Gentileschi’s paintings regularly featured women as the protagonists acting in a manner equal to men. In fact, forty nine of her paintings fall into this category. She was raped at the age of 18 and the subsequent events lent her a certain amount of notoriety. These factors have led many to interpret her artwork as an expression of her role as a female victim looking for revenge through her art. Instead, a closer examination of Gentileschi’s life and her artwork exposes the artist as an individual with personal strength and incredible talent who painted subjects similar to or the same as those of her male counterparts, instead of staying within the guiding principles of what was acceptable “feminine” art.
I had never heard of the artist Artemisia Gentileschi before this introductory Art course. Of all the paintings and sculptures found within the book, it was her work that stood out and spoke to me. "Judith and Maidservant with the head of Holofernes" is a particularly rich oil painting by the Italian Gentileschi, painted circa 1625 Europe. Her large canvas measures 72 and 1/2 inches by 55 and 3/4 inches and began as a biblical story telling inspiration come to life within the oil. Located at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the painting was a gift to the institute from Art collector Mr. Leslie H. Green in 1952. Artemisia was the daughter of a painter (and caravaggio influenced) Orazio Gentileschi, she was also the wife of little known artist Pierantonio Stiattesi. Artemisia had four sons and one daughter during her marriage. A student of the Chiaroscuro technique and during a time when women were not believed capable of painting competitively and intelligently as the men of the day. Artemisia proved them wrong with stunning work and artistry over her artistic career.
Alice Neel's most talked about painting, a Self-Portrait of herself, shocked the world when she painted herself in the nude at the age of 80-years-old. Neel, a 20th Century American Portrait Artist, painted models for over 50 years before turning the attention to herself (Tamara Garb). Neel wasn't a pinup girl and had depicted herself as the complete opposite (Jeremy Lewison). Unlike Neel, women avoided self-portraits of themselves, and nude self-portraits barely made it to canvas (Tamara Garb). Because of these reasons alone, Neel's Self-Portrait attracted scrutiny (Jeremy Lewison). Though Neel declared the painting to be frightful and indecent (Ibid), it still directed its focus on femininity, and the challenges women had to endure in our
Artemisia was the queen of Halicarnassus, that would be located in present day Turkey. Artemisia became well known as a naval commander, she was also an ally of Xerxes, the king of Persia. Furthermore, the queen was named after the Goddess Artemis, who is sister of Apollo. The queen married King of Halicarnassus in 500BC just before the revolt that set off the war between Persia and Greece. Moreover, the queen is believed to be brave and clever who was also a valued ally the King of Persia.
In “The Undefinable,” by the end of the young woman’s first visit, the narrator is appraising her body for its worth in a portrait. The woman views this appraisal with disdain, mocking the “rounded form, healthy flesh, and lively glances” that appeal to the painter, common tropes of upper class portraits (Grand 285). Over the course of her next two visits, the narrator begins to worship and “glorify” her being (Grand 285). In the midst of her glorification, the man is able to paint in “love and reverence” a woman as she is, so that he “may feel her divinity and worship that!” (Grand 282, 284). The goddess-like terms of exaltation that the narrator describes the women with come with a frenzy to paint the ‘soul’ of the young woman, who was “a source of inspiration the like of which no man hitherto has even imagined in art or literature” (Grand 287). The inspiration, which solidifies the woman’s role as the muse, comes from a desire for her soul, not her
Her chief arguing points and evidence relate to the constriction of female sexuality in comparison to male sexuality; women’s economic and political roles; women’s access to power, agency, and land; the cultural roles of women in shaping their society; and, finally, contemporary ideology about women. For her, the change in privacy and public life in the Renaissance escalated the modern division of the sexes, thus firmly making the woman into a beautiful
Holofernes (Detroit Institute of Art). Painted by Artemisia Gentileschi in 1625, the painting depicts the story of Judith, who beheads Holofernes while he is passed out because he is about to destroy her home. Gentileschi paints Judith and her handmaiden in the moment after the beheading, stashing Holoferne’s head in a sack. I selected this work because of Gentileschi being a popular female artist, and being a female myself, there is importance in having female representation in a profession that has historically been predominantly male. Not only is Gentileschi a notable female artist, she is known for depicting female figures, especially ones in biblical stories as heroic, strong and realistic figures. This is visible from the softness of skin, to the clear knowledge of female anatomy depicted in detail, to the emphasis of strength and suffering or former suffering. This would interest someone who wants to know more about seventeenth century culture because of the notion of Pictorial Reform, when the Catholic Church wanted religious art to be simple, and to have a clear story or meaning. We can draw conclusions that Gentileschi uses a combination of the elements of light and dark, lines and shape to put a clear and easy to follow focus on the biblical story, strength and heroism of Judith.
During this period, the world was rocked by a socialist movement characterized by a counterattack against nonfigurative art and a reversion to figurative art, a change that enabled artists to deliver social messages clearly. Kahlo’s paintings started receiving global attention from the 1970s. Feminism in art at the time suggested that women’s physical characteristics were women’s own space, distinguished from men’s. Her paintings honestly and comprehensively expressed her personal experiences and emotions, to which only women could relate. Self-portrait was a recurring theme in her paintings, which depicted women as active observers of their inner being rather than as passive objects of men’s attraction. From this perspective, Kahlo’s pieces are extremely pioneering (Deffebach, 2015). The feminist movement provided opportunities for the discovery of more female artists in the world of art; this movement helped her paintings see the light of day. During the period when male chauvinism prevailed, Kahlo stood against conservative society with her strong character and personality; she strived to create a new era and tread the path of a pioneer. In this respect, Kahlo was an artist who had great influence on improving women’s social
When it comes to Rossetti’s Goblin Market, numerous critical approaches are offered. Feminists believed that this was an effort to reconstruct women’s roles and visions, they were also convinced that it had a strong message of hero creation. Not so, argued naturalists because Christina has used wide range of natural elements, and they validated this with her early life in the country and some argued she hinted the infiltration of women into capital market as she talks about trade and market. Some critics also speculated that she has incorporated the classic theme of temptation, fall, and redemption, which is quite obvious because Rossetti was a religious female. Her poem was also castigated for the extensive use of sexual language or perhaps it was just a fairy tale. But, if we deeply dig into the poem and her personal life we can find the hidden epic allegory. A profound analysis of her work will reveal the thematic interpretation of christian belief ...
Both enamel on canvas, these realistic painting show women through the distorted reflection in a funhouse mirror. Minter is trying to show that women are show to follow an ideal form of beauty, but only to see themselves as flaws. “These works, like the others from this period, fused a feminist critique of the construction of gender and femininity with other postmodernist hallmarks of the 1980s, including the appropriation of mass-media imagery translated in a cool, detached, style of painting,” says Elissa Auther, co-curator of the exhibition. Minter has changed the way women is presents verse how men only use them for sexual
The Baroque period was one of great confusion and change. I chose Artemesia Gentileschi to illustrate and exemplify the ideals of this time. She was the first woman to become famous in Western art of her time. She specialized in gruesome, dramatic paintings that masterfully employ Baroque techniques.
She had a youthful uneasiness drawing this painting. When all other male painters during that time portrayed Susanna as flirtatious, Artemisia looked at her with a female viewpoint and depicted Susanna as helpless and startled. This was her reflection on her own life during the time period about how she felt in the world of men: timid and distressed. However her perspective changed at the age of 19 when she was raped by her teacher who was also her fathers’ coworker: Agostino Tassi. At trial, Tassi humiliated her by saying that she slept with many other men before him. Gentileschi had to go through torture and examination by midwifes of her virginity to prove that her testimony was valid. Tassi further humiliated her by saying that Artemisia was not a skillful artist and did not even understand the laws of perspective. Finally, Tassi was found guilty when a former friend of his testified that Tassi confined to him about his exploits with Artemisia. Soon after trial Artemisia married a painter and moved to Florence, where her paintings flourished. The trial changed Artemisia’s life. She was a victim of the male dominant society and an example of how women were
Artemesia Gentileschi was very different from other artisis of her time. Being a woman painter was all but unheard of during the High Renaissance. She had the style of Caravaggio, while at the same time bringing in women's characters who were in the position of power. Throughout art history, an idea that women are present solely for men to look at has been shown. This could be because men have generally been the target audience, and naked women the subject. In her paintings, Gentileschi shifted the focus to women and showed them as real people. She was both praised and scorned by the critics of her time. She was thought a genious, yet terrible because she was a woman in what was thought to be a man's area of expertise.
The gestural and heavy working of the paint and the contrasting colors make the painting appear active yet are arduous to follow. The defining element of Woman and Bicycle is the presence of the black lines that do most of the work in terms of identifying the figure. Through the wild nature of the brushwork, color, and composition of the painting, it can be implied that the artist is making an implication towards the wild nature of even the most proper of women.
Rossetti’s use of repetition emphasizes the idea that the artist is able to set expectations for women by controlling who they are, what they do, and what they feel by recreating them through art. Rossetti shows us a woman who is repeatedly being depicted in the artist’s paintings. Repetition of the word “one” (1,2,8) conveys a sense of homogenization: many women