Feature Writing

Creating art to heal from trauma is an accepted practice today, but in the seventeenth century, a painter used her trauma to create a prominent, successful art career. Artemisia Gentileschi’s art is famous today for its realism and the way she placed women at the center of her images. Her most important work, Judith Slaying Holofernes, has had a lasting impact on art history with its unique portrayal. Gentileschi’s perspective and talent has led to her being the most celebrated woman painter of the 17th century.

Early Life & Struggles

Artemisia Gentileschi was the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, a painter and follower of Carvaggio. She trained under her father, developing a style that was almost identical to his. Because of this, even though she never explicitly trained under Carvaggio, she still had used a lot of his signature techniques and skills. Soon, her father brought in a colleague and friend, Agostino Tassi, to help teach Artemisia. In 1611, Tassi raped Artemisia, significantly altering the course of her life forever. After refusing to marry Artemisia, Tassi was arrested and charged with rape. A long, drawn-out trial occurred, in which Artemisia was tortured, and Tassi was found guilty. Due to the pope’s protection, his sentence was never enforced, leaving Artemisia with a ruined reputation.

After the trial, Artemisia’s painting style evolved. Even though she still followed a lot of Caravaggio’s principles, she developed her own unique style and perspective, painting traditional Biblical scenes from the point of view of the heroines. Her work began to include women taking revenge on men, or men using their authority to abuse women.

Depicting Trauma In Art

The story of Judith and Holofernes involves a Jewish widow named Judith beheading an Assyrian general in order to stop the invasion of Palestine. Gentileschi’s portrayal, Judith Slaying Holofernes, is not the first painting to show this story. Caravaggio even had his own version. Traditionally, the painting would focus on the beauty and courage of Judith, and have less emphasis on the act itself.

Gentileschi’s work is dark, focusing heavily on the brutal act of beheading–particularly when done by two women. Upon closer look, the women feel like a familiar face. Artemisia has a familiar, recurring face she uses in her paintings, and this one is no different. When comparing these faces to Artemisia’s own self-portrait, the similarities are clear. Most of her paintings are self-portraits, it seems, using various Biblical stories and themes to help her exact revenge and get the justice she never got.

Common themes are reflected throughout a lot of Gentileschi’s work. She regularly offers abuse of power, rape, and violence from a woman’s perspective, but still giving off a masculine energy that drives home the feeling of feminine rage. Gentileschi’s assault as a teenager and subsequent trial had a drastic impact on her work, where she is manifesting revenge and justice. Susanna and the Elders portrays the predatory behavior of her tutors, Tassi and the friends he would bring around. Her anger and pain shines through in her brushstrokes and use of color, offering us a deeper look into how she was managing her trauma.

Impact and Legacy

Artemisia Gentileschi died after 1654, and she fell into art obscurity soon after. Even though she was a successful and prominent artist in her lifetime, most of her works became attributed to her father after her death. In the 1970s and 80s, art historians reexamined her work, uncovering her story and connecting it to her art. Since then, she has gained recognition as a feminist icon for telling her story both in the courtroom and through her artwork.

Today, Artemisia’s reputation as a trailblazer for women has spread not only in the art world, but everywhere. Her story is a testimony to the strength and resilience of survivors going up against their abusers in court, and still achieving all the dreams you had for yourself despite the trauma. Her work, finally attributed to her name, is shown all over the world. Artemisia’s perspective and talent has led to her becoming the most celebrated woman painter of the seventeenth century.