ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI
One of the most talented painters in Art History and a victim of the patriarchy in the worst way. Artemisia Gentileschi understood her art as a way of slaying -metaphorically- her abusers.
Sadly, Artemisia Gentileschi (Italy, 1593-c.1656) is one of those women artists almost erased from Art History. Some things happened to her in her life that took the attention away from her art. When she was around 20, she was raped by an artist, Agostino Tassi, who was supposed to teach her about different painting techniques. Like it has happened to many, the abuser was someone close to the family -it was Artemisia’s father, Orazio Gentileschi, who introduced them- and who thought he had the right, the authority, to do with her as he pleased. Because to him she was a mere object, just as women generally had little to no rights. Also, let us not forget that at that time, sexual abuse towards women was not a felony; it was more of an attack on the family’s reputation -that was taken more seriously-. Orazio Gentileschi reported Tassi, and he was sentenced to five years in prison or exile -he could choose between one of both-. He finally chose exile, but he returned to Rome sometime after, being able to coexist in the same city as Artemisia, which we could imagine had to be brutal for her.
The thing is, Gentileschi was not only abused by Tassi but also mistreated during the trial, where she was tortured to discover if she was telling the truth. So basically, she was raped again. And not only that, but the trauma she must have dealt with had to be tremendous. The public scorn, how she was accused of being “too free” and “too independent,” thus, abused again by people on the street. After going through that, she used art to express her anger and fury towards her abusers, depicting women who were also abused, assaulted, and betrayed in some way or another. She was the perfect example of what revictimization can do to a person.
In her work Judith Slaying Holofernes (c.1613), Gentileschi represents the biblical story of Judith. She, defending her people and her city from the hands of Holofernes -an Assyrian general- beheads him with the help of her maid. The scene exudes drama and darkness, represented in an almost macabre way.
The use of chiaroscuro, the quality in the textures, the outstanding technique in the clothing -the velvety red, the golden yellow-, the way the blood splatter taints the white sheets and how it almost touches Judith, leaving on her body the reminder that the revenge she craved had finally been served.
This scene reminds us of the same work by Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes (c.1599), only that Gentileschi’s painting is more forceful and aggressive, for example, in the body language, in the expression on their faces, especially Judith’s, who looks almost relieved. Similar to Caravaggio’s work is also the expression on Holofernes’ face and the use of the bright red fabric -which resembles the color of blood-.
The truth is Gentileschi had nothing to envy about Caravaggio. She was one of the most talented painters, not only in the Baroque period but in Art History. The only problem is she was a woman.
Judith Slaying Holofernes (c.1613)
