BIRTH OF ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI

 

Trigger Warning~Contains descriptions of r@pe 
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 On this day ~ 8th July 1593 
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 BIRTH OF ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI 

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 Throughout the 17th Century, Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, created stunning works of art, depicting female revenge.

As one of the most daring artists of the Baroque era, Artemisia didn’t stick to “feminine” topics in her work.

Instead, her paintings lashed out at the world around her, with violence and anger, fueled by her rage at living in a society that set r@pists free ~ including her own.

 After she was r@ped by her teacher at 18, and he was set free following a brutal trial in 1612, Artemisia spent her career channeling her anguish and rage into her work, producing some of the most striking ~ and violent ~ art in history.

 During the seven month trial, Artemisia claimed that Agostino Tassi, rAped her.
In her testimony, she says~

“He threw me on to the edge of the bed,
pushing me with a hand on my breast.
He put a knee between my thighs to prevent me
from closing them.

Lifting my clothes, he placed a hand with a
handkerchief on my mouth to keep me from
screaming.

I scratched his face and pulled his hair and, before
he penetrated me again, I grasped his p3nis so
tight, that I even removed a piece of flesh.”

 After the rApe, Artemisia says, she ran to grab a knife, shouting,

“I’d like to kill you with this knife because you have
dishonored me.”

She then threw the knife at Tassi, who dodged the blade.

Tassi, in his defense, called the teenage artist “an insatiable whOre.”

 During the trial, the court tortured Artemisia, to determine whether she told the truth.

They wrapped ropes around her fingers, pulling them tight.
As Tassi watched, Artemisia gasped,

“It is true, it is true, it is true, it is true.”

No one considered torturing Tassi......
At the end of the trial, he was set free thanks to a powerful friend, the pope.

 Artemisia Gentileschi didn’t give up after seeing her r@pist walk free.
After the trial, Gentileschi left Rome behind for Florence.

There, she started her own studio and began painting her most famous work of art ~ the Biblical story of Judith and Holofernes.

In the story, a young widow sneaks into the warlord’s tent.
After plying him with wine, Judith b~heads Holofernes.

 Throughout her career, Artemisia centered her art on women ~ including Cleopatra, Mary Magdalene, and the Virgin Mary.

Artemisia also painted self-portraits, depicting herself as a martyr or a powerful, self-assured artist.

She devoted the rest of her career, to painting strong women.

The Tudor Intruders (and more)
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 Source~AllThatsInteresting
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 Self-portrait made around 1615, depicting herself as a martyr.