Painting the Way for Women
When Artemisia Gentileschi began painting, as an apprentice under her father’s eye, art was a male only community. At this time, there were no female artists and throughout her life Artemisia Gentileschi broke boundaries and overcame the general consensus that women were not artists. Her life was full of tragedy that she persevered past, all while using the horrific events and bible stories to create something powerful. Artemisia Gentileschi overcame adversity within the art community that was led by prejudice and misogyny. Thus, she earned the title of feminist long after her death but embodied the word “feminist” within her lifetime.
While she was still a young child, Artemisia Gentileschi’s mother passed
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Within this brutal painting, this depicts a man that was asleep while another woman holds him down. In this position, Judith was able to cut through his throat decapitating him. This painting has been thought to be Artemisia Gentileschi taking back the power to her helplessness that she derived from the rape. Like the position Holofernes was in, that she felt as the rape internally killed her (Violence and Virtue: Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith Slaying Holofernes, N.d.). Because Holofernes was incapacitated after a night of drinking, leading to the conclusion that the man was unable to fight off the two women. His face, being twisted, shows that he most likely felt everything but was unable to protect himself. I strongly believe that the artist’s own trauma greatly influenced the way that she painted this piece. Artemisia Gentileschi was able to put the two women in the position of protectors, something she did not have at the time of her own rape.
Artemisia Gentileschi once again related bible stories to her life and incorporated them into her paintings. In 1625, Artemisia Gentileschi painted “Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes” (1625) which shows Judith’s power over Holofernes. This also signifies that she was successfully overcoming the trauma she had experienced in her life. Because of such paintings that revealed her passion and knowledge of oil, Artemisia Gentileschi came into her own as an artist and was recognized as