Back to Baroque Times

Artemisia Gentileschi

Autoritratto in veste di Pittura (1638-39)

       My assignment originally consisted of finding a female contemporary artist that had impacted society and had addressed some type of social or cultural issue. As much as I wanted to correctly do the assignment, temptation had lured me in another direction. I have always had quite an admiration and an interest for Baroque Art. The tension, the drama, the complexity, and the obscurity, has always drawn my attention. Caravaggio, Vermeer, Velazquez, have been a few of my favorite, but the one artist that I love the most and had left an impression on me goes by the name of Artemisia Gentileschi. Artemisia Gentileschi was not only a famous Italian Baroque artist, but was also a female. In my opinion she is one of the first female artists that paved the road for others to follow. In a time of patriarchy and misogyny, Artemisia was capable of becoming the first woman member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence. 

           

          Without any support or sponsorship, Artemisia was still able to disprove many men and critics wrong. She indeed became one of the most famous painters in the seventeenth century despite the hardships and discrimination she had to go through because she was a woman. Many of her emotions and frustrations reflected through her art. Painting of victims, suicides, and suffering women from myth and bible stories were displayed in her paintings. Although Artemisia was a victim of rape from her own Art tutor, she did not let this stop her. She fought through a trial to regain her dignity and restore her future. My small summary does no justice to capture the real essence of Artemisia, but all I can say is that this women was simply incredible and was able to create masterpieces that no other man could replicate.