"You will find the spirit of Caesar in this soul of a woman" - Aretmisia Gentileschi, Part 3

Artemisia Gentileschi.
Allegory of Inclination

“My illustrious lordship, i'll show you what a woman can do”
-- Artemisia Gentileschi

How did Artemisia Gentileschi become such a magnificent artist? She was born in Rome towards the end of the 16th century to the fairly successful artist Orazio Gentileschi (you might be familiar with Orazio from his painting called The Lute Player) and Prudenzia di Ottaviano Montoni.  Artemisia was the oldest of four children and was introduced to drawing and painting in her father's workshop. She proved to be a quick learner and at an early age she was recognized as having promise as an artist.

Prudenzia di Ottaviano Montoni died when Artemisia was 12 years old. Prudentia died in childbirth and Orazio was left to manage his family along with his work. In early 17th century Italy young girls were generally kept out of the public eye. It appears that for the most part Orazio tried to follow this norm with Artemisia, going so far as to rent an upstairs apartment to a woman named Tuzia who some historians suggest was to be sort of a chaperone for Artemisia when Orazio was away from home.

Art and artists surrounded Artemisia. Orazio was a friend of Caravaggio, a controversial and influential Italian artist. Caravaggio's technique, known as tenebrism, relied on using deep shadow to enhance the light areas of the paintings. Artemisia was a follower of Caravaggio and his influence can be seen in her work. Her earliest work, Suzanna and the Elders, produced when she was about 17 years old. For years was attributed to her father, but when the signature on the back of the painting was compared to Artemisia's writings it was confirmed as her work. There is some evidence from this same period that even though Artemisia was to stay confined to the family living quarters she was working in her fathers studio, going so far as to provide instruction to his apprentices if he happened to be out of the studio.

At 18 Artemisia entered an extremely difficult time in her life. A family acquaintance and fellow artist, Agostino Tassi attacked and raped Artemisia. Orazio brought the suit because at this time a woman couldn’t bring rape charges. The trial was appalling and resulted in a slap on the wrist for Agostino. You can read more in the supplemental post "Slut Shaming in17th Century Italy".

Following the trial Artemisia married the artist Pierantonio Stiattesi and the newlyweds moved to Florence. Little is known of Pierantonio's work. He and Artemisia had a daughter named Prudentia. The marriage lasted only a few years. The couple had financial problems, Pierantonio was a philanderer and was extremely jealous of Artemisia. He finally walked out on her and Prudentia in 1622.

Artemisia joined Florence’s Accademia dell’Arte del Disegno in 1616  -- the first woman to do so. As a member of the Accademia, she was able to purchase paints and other art materials without the permission of her husband or father. This freedom proved to be instrumental when she and Pierantonio separated. She refined and developed her style and became known not only for her technical proficiency, but more importantly, the originality in the way she portrayed her subjects.

It is said that she was known for developing the rich yellow/gold color that is used in many of her paintings. It was known in the artist community as "Artemisia Yellow". The banner color for this blog is in honor of Artemisia.

About 1630 Artemisia moved to Naples. A few years later she went to London, where she worked alongside her father for King Charles I where they collaborated on the ceiling paintings of the Great Hall in the Queen’s House in Greenwich. She stayed on in London for at several more years until she finally settled in Naples.

Little is known of the later years of Artemisia's life. She is know to have painted several versions of the story of David and Bathsheba, but few other records of this part of her life survive. The rape trial, her unconventional life as a female painter, and her numerous paintings of powerful women struggling against male dominance did not endear her to the male aristocracy and her reputation suffered after her death. It was the early 20th century before art historians began to re-evaluate her work and contribution to the art world.

Artemisia is the definitive Bad Ass. Tough, intimidating and uncompromising.

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O'Neill, Mary. Artemisia’s Moment. Smithsonian Magazine, May 2002

Rockefeller, Hall W. Biography of Artemisia Gentileschi. The Thought Co., December 02, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/artemisia-gentileschi-art-biography-4571308

 Artemisia Gentileschi.The Art History Archive.

Slut Shaming in 17th Century Italy - Artemisia Gentileschi, Part 2

In the 21st century we have come to accept that slut shaming can be a part of cases of sexual assault. However, for an amature historian like myself it is extremely hard to read a 17th century trial transcript and learn first hand that humiliating rape victims was not just happening, but that is was apparently an accepted practice.

Orazio Gentileschi recognized the promise in his daughters work so he arranged for her to have lessons from a family friend and artist, Agostino Tassi. Agostino was known from his skill with tromploi and his use of perspective.

Lessons progressed for a few months and during that time Agostino became more and more familiar with Artemisia. In today's terms he was grooming her.

In the spring of 1611 Agostino took advantage of Orazio being away from home. He convinced the upstairs neighbor Tuzia to let him into the Gentileschi family quarters where he attacked and raped Artemisia. Some writers have suggested that he took a friend - Cosimo Quorli - to hold Artemisia down, although from what I could tell Artemisia does not bring this up during the trial.

Artemisia struggled against Agostino, continuing to protest loudly after the rape was over, even attacking Agostino with a knife. Agostino said he would marry Artemisia, and she acquiesced. Artemisia's own words from the trail describe what happen next, “I felt calmer, and with this promise he induced me later on to yield lovingly, many times, to his desires, since many times he has also reconfirmed this promise to me.”

Time passed, and no wedding. Nearly a year later Orazio pressed charges.

Orazio brought the suit because at this time a woman couldn’t bring rape charges. It was considered a crime of property damage; Artemisia had lost “bartering value.”

Bartering value. Let that sink in for a minute.

Artemisia was further victimized by the courts. She underwent a pelvic examination in front of the court. Later, during questioning, thumbscrews were placed on her fingers and tightened to see if she would change her story under torture. Historians refer to this as Agostino Tassi's trial, but let's be clear: Artemisia and her father were the ones on trial. Artemisia was slut shamed by the court. She was blamed for the rape, Agostino's lawyers introduce "witnesses" who said she wrote erotic letters to other men, that she slept with at least five different men, and that she had committed incest with her father.

Still, Artemisia did not waiver. She was adamant in her story, that Agostino had attacked her, then later promised to marry her. She. Was. Adamant.

Half way through the trial Artemisia learned that Agostino had been married. Neither Artemisia or  Orazio had any idea that Agostino had been married.

Agostino was despicable at best. During the trial it came out that he had been charged with sexual molestation of both young girls and boys before coming to Rome. When he agreed to teach Artemisia he was under investigation for raping his late wife's 14-year-old sister. He had been married, but when his wife left him she was stalked and murdered. The crime remains unsolved but several accounts suggest that Agostino was in some way responsible.

After a grueling 7 months the trail ended. The court transcript still exists, but unfortunately several pages from the verdict section are missing. We know that Agostino was convicted, as he was held in prison for eight months after the trial. Additional documents from the period imply that he was banished from working in Rome. Agostino was released from prison and pardoned and continued working in Rome.

One writer suggested that Pope Innocent admired Agostino's work and was instrumental in his pardon. It was through this association that Agostino enjoyed a long  career in Rome.

Artemisia's hands healed. She left Rome and moved to Florence. Her art survives to this day.

Orazio also sought work outside Rome. He successfully worked for European nobility for the rest of his life. His art survives to this day.

Who was Agostino Tassi again? Anybody? Oh yeah, the rapist. That's his claim to fame.



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Bissell, R. Ward Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art: Critical Reading and Catalogue Raisonné. https://books.google.com/

Cascone, Sarah. "A New Book Uses 400-Year-Old Court Transcripts to Recreate Baroque Painter Artemisia Gentileschi’s Rape Trial". Art World. April 3, 2018 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/a-new-novel-artemisia-gentileschi-1255694

Cohen, Elizabeth S. "The Trails of Artemisia Gentileschi: Rape as History". The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 31, No. 1, Special Edition: Gender in Early Modern Europe (Spring, 2000), pp. 47-75 (29 pages)

Marks, Tracy. Artemisia: The Rape and the Trial. http://www.webwinds.com/artemisia/trial.htm

National Gallery of Art. Orazio Gentileschi. https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1332.html

O'Neill, Mary. Artemisia’s Moment. Smithsonian Magazine, May 2002