Artemisia Gentileschi: Stories behind her Arts
Artemisia Gentileschi is known for her paintings of Susanna and the Elders, Judith and Holofernes and Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting. Her art is greatly influenced by an also known artist named Caravaggio. During her time, there are only a few female artists because women are not allowed to go to university, could not get paid and they are not allowed to own an atelier unless accompanied by a man. Women’s live are controlled and restricted. Some scholars do not believe that Artemisia Gentileschi’s could have painter Susanna and the Elders at a young age and being a woman also affects their judgments. Artemisia becomes more public due to her rape trial and some people assumes that her…show more content… Judith’s town is being destroyed by Holofernes army and Judith’s plan is to enter Holofernes’s camp and have dinner with him. When Holofernes drinks too much and falls asleep, Judith takes the opportunity to cut off his head with the help of her maid Abra. They place his head into the basket that is used to put foods and they go back to her town with Holofernes’s head as a symbol of their victory (Garrard 280). Some people believe that Artemisia’s painting of Judith and Holofernes is her response to her rapist Agostino Tassi (Christiansen and Mann 310). The autobiographical iconography of the painting is a representation of her assault. For example the bloody bedroom signifies how she is raped and also Judith’s image could be a self-portrait of Artemisia. In the painting, Artemisia creates a different interpretation of Judith. Judith does not look scared or disgusted to kill Holofernes but instead she looks like there is nothing wrong about killing Holofernes. The gesture “symbolizes female defiance of male power” (Garrard 280). Judith gives an impression that Holofernes deserves to die (Garrard 278). Artemisia’s Judith and Holofernes is the painting she paints during her rape trial. The painting could be her way of showing how she feels when she is raped and when she is tortured to tell the truth even though she is the victim.