Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi (July 8, 1593 - 1653) is today considered one of the most accomplished Early Baroque painters in the generation influenced by Caravaggio (the "Caravaggisti"). Remarkably, in an era when women painters were not easily accepted, she became the first female painter to become a member of the Accademia dell' Arte del Disegno in Florence. She was also one of the first female artists to paint history and religious paintings, at a time when such heroic themes were considered beyond a mere woman's reach.

Artemisia in Popular Culture

Despite the fact that there were other female painters in the Renaissance, there is something, both in the art and the biography of Artemisia Gentileschi, something that makes her especially fascinating and that explains the interest of some writers (males and females) towards her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first writer who wrote a novel around the figure of Artemisia was Anna Banti, wife of Roberto Longhi. Her first draft of the manuscripts, dated 1944, got lost during the war. The decision to starts again with the book, called Artemisia, writing in a much different form, happened three years later. Anna Banti maintains a dialogue with Artemisia in her book, in a "open diary" form where she tries to understand why she finds Artemisia so fascinating.

Related Topics:
Anna Banti - Roberto Longhi - 1944

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

More than fifty years later, in 1999, the French writer Alexandra Lapierre became fascinated about Artemisia and wrote a novel about her, derived from scrupulous study of the painter and the historical context of her work. The psychological research between the lines of the novel, to understand the relation between Artemisia the woman and Artemisia the painter, ends with describing as "leit motiv" the relation between her and her father, composed by both love not sufficiently expressed and a latent professional rivalry.

Related Topics:
1999 - Alexandra Lapierre

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another novel, recently published in Italy, by Susan Vreeland (The Passion of Artemisa), positions itself in the wave of the popularity of the feminist figure of Artemisia Gentileschi, seemingly exploiting the recent success of historical novels based on famous artwork.

Related Topics:
Italy - Susan Vreeland - Artemisia Gentileschi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The 1997 film Artemisia, directed by Agnès Merlet and starring Valentina Cervi, was based on this painter's life.

Related Topics:
1997 - Valentina Cervi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~