Artemisia Gentileschi

 

Artemisia Gentileschi

"Judith Slaying Holofernes"

Oil on canvas

6' 6 1/3" x 5' 4"

1614-1620

Biography:

Artemisia Gentileschi was born July 8, 1593. She was an Italian Baroque painter. She was one of the first women to be accepted into the "Accademia di Arte del Disegno." She made many paintings having to do with "Judith's story from the bible. She had a very hard life and faced many trials as a women. She was raped by a man named, "Tassi." And though she sought for her right's, she never fully received them in this  situation. "Caravaggio's style really influenced her and she painted feminine works. Her most popular was "Judith Slaying Holofernes." It is said that she may have died in a plague that swept Naples in 1656. 

Artist's Statement:

Narratives involving heroic women were a favorite theme of Gentileschi. In " Judith Slaying Holofernes," the controlled highlights on the action in the foreground recall Caravaggio's painting's and heighten the drama."

(Fred S. Kleiner, 2010, P.540)

Background Information:

This type of art opened up a way of feminine power. The painting depicts a story from "Judith," a book in the old testament. So she mixed feminine ideals and religious material together. It came form the Old testament, and she produced more than one painting of this event.

Connection:

I chose this because it's a painting of some, "Causing Death." It's a very empowering painting and is very graphic in the way that she cuts of his head and the blood is squirting outwards. You can see the struggle of her and her maidservant trying to wield that sword because of it's weight. The lighting really effects the emotion in the painting, you can feel the tension. It's a very dark painting of Death and the endless possibilites of how and when you will die.