Self - Portrait
Artemisia Gentileschi was born in Rome on 8 July 1593, the eldest child of the Tuscan painter
Orazio Gentileschi. Artemisia was introduced to painting in her father's workshop, showing much more talent than her brothers, who worked alongside her. She learned drawing, how to mix color and how to paint. Since her father's style took inspiration from Caravaggio during that period, her style was just as heavily influenced in turn. But her approach to subject matter was different from her father's, as her paintings are highly naturalistic, where Orazio's are idealized.
(
Biography from Wikipedia) The first work of the young 17-year-old Artemisia (even if many at the time suspected that she was helped by her father) was the
Susanna e i Vecchioni (
Susanna and the Elders) (1610,
Schönborn collection in
Pommersfelden). The picture shows how Artemisia assimilated the realism of
Caravaggio without being indifferent to the language of the
Bologna school (which had
Annibale Carracci among its major artists). It is one of the few Susanna paintings showing the two men planning their sexual harassment. It is likely that Artemisia had been sexually harassed and painted Susanna as a reflection.
In 1612, despite her early talent, Artemisia was denied access to the all-male professional academies for art. At the time, her father was working with
Agostino Tassi to decorate the vaults of Casino della Rose inside the
Pallavicini Rospigliosi Palace in Rome, so Orazio hired the painter to tutor his daughter privately. During this tutelage, Tassi raped Artemisia. Another man, Cosimo Quorlis had helped Tassi with the rape. After the initial rape, Artemisia continued to have sexual relations with Tassi, with the expectation that they were going to be married. However, Tassi reneged on his promise to marry Artemisia after he heard the rumour that she was having an affair with another man. Quorlis had threatened that if he could not have her, he would publicly humiliate her. Orazio pressed charges against Tassi only after he learned that Artemisia and Tassi were not going to be married. Orazio also claimed that Tassi stole a painting of Judith from the Gentileschi household. The major issue of this trial was the fact that Tassi had deflowered Artemisia. If Artemisia had not been a virgin before Tassi raped her, the Gentileschis would not be able to press charges.
In the ensuing 7-month trial, it was discovered that Tassi had planned to murder his wife, had enjoined in adultery with his sister-in-law and planned to steal some of Orazio’s paintings. During the trial, Artemisia was given a gynecological examination and was tortured using
thumbscrews. Both procedures were used to corroborate the truth of her allegation, the torture device used due to the belief that if a person can tell the same story under torture as without it, the story must be true
[Citation Needed]. At the end of the trial Tassi was imprisoned for one year. The trial has subsequently influenced the
feminist view of Artemisia Gentileschi during the late 20th century.
The painting
Giuditta che decapita Oloferne (
Judith beheading Holofernes) (1612–1613), displayed in the
Capodimonte Museum of Naples, is impressive for the violence portrayed.
One month after the trial, in order to restore her honour, Orazio arranged for his daughter to marry
Pierantonio Stiattesi, a modest artist from
Florence. Shortly afterwards the couple moved to
Florence, where Artemisia received a commission for a painting at
Casa Buonarroti and became a successful court painter, enjoying the patronage of the
Medici family and
Charles I. It has been proposed that during this period Artemisia also painted the
Madonna col Bambino (
The Virgin and Child), currently in the
Spada Gallery, Rome.
While in Florence, Artemisia and Pierantonio had four sons and one daughter. But only the daughter, Prudenzia, survived to adulthood — following her mother's return to
Rome in 1621 and later move to
Naples. After her mother's death, Prudenzia slipped into obscurity and little is known of her subsequent life.
