27. Artemisia Gentilischi: Italian Artist Mastery

Exploring Artemisia Gentileschi: A Tale of Resilience and Artistic Mastery

In this episode of 'She Changed History,' the hosts discuss the inspiring story of Artemisia Gentileschi, a pioneering Baroque painter from 16th century Italy. Born into a family of artists, Artemisia overcame personal trauma and societal challenges to make a significant impact in the art world. The episode delves into her major works, such as 'Judith Slaying Holofernes' and 'Susanna and the Elders,' highlighting how she redefined the portrayal of women in art. The hosts also draw parallels to contemporary figures like comedian Katherine Ryan, emphasizing the ongoing relevance of challenging societal norms and expectations. Artemisia's legacy is celebrated not just for her technical prowess but also for her defiant spirit and enduring influence on the art world.

Trigger warning: sexual assault and rape

Other episodes mentioned: Grace O'Malley and Judith Leyster 

00:00 Introduction to Six: The Musical Experience
00:51 Discovering the Creators: Toby and Lucy
01:56 New Musical Adventures
02:40 Technical Difficulties and Introductions
03:00 Diving into Artemisia Gentileschi's Life
04:42 Early Life and Challenges
08:12 Artistic Journey and Personal Struggles
14:51 Legacy and Iconography
17:46 Analyzing Emotions in Art
21:03 The Practicality of Self-Portraits
22:36 Judith Slaying Holofernes: A Comparative Study
24:42 Susanna and the Elders: A Different Perspective
29:26 Artemisia's Career and Legacy
33:02 The Dinner Party: Celebrating Women in History
35:54 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript

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Six was amazing. Six was super fun. Yeah. And um, I. I thought maybe I'd book tickets to the wrong thing.'cause it's one of these, um, live broadcast cinema, theater to cinema type numbers. Love that. And I sat down, I'm ready to watch this musical. And then they said, and now we're gonna show you the documentary of the making of six. And I was like, oh, I've gone wrong. But it was, I think because it, when you're in the cinema, they don't have the interval and so on and so on, right. In order to kind of make the runtime feel like value for money, they give you these extras. So. As well as seeing the actual, you know, musical. Mm-hmm. I got to see, uh, a thing about the musical and Yay. The people who did it were like these two uni students and they just Yeah. Toby and Lucy turned it out. Yeah. Oh God. You know them first name. I know. Um, I can't remember the fabulous. I, I bow down to amazing. So impressive and so full of fun and joy. I, I, yeah. I really, truly enjoyed it and I think I tried to read Wolf Hall and I realized I was not smart enough for that. So I tried to watch Wolf Hall and I also wasn't smart that, but then I thought, no, come on, take yourself in hand here. You can do this. So I sat down to watch it again with a bit more focus. Yeah. And I did actually enjoy it once it, once I trusted the process that I was gonna understand the characters. And having that knowledge of that history, albeit only through the filter of. A fictionalized television show. Yeah. I felt like I could understand and enjoy the musical more. Like there were some little in jokes and I was like, I get the in jokes. Oh, it was very good. Very, very good indeed. Yeah. Um, yeah, because, um. my friends, they have got a new musical called and it looks phenomenal. It looks so good. I remember you saying that. You would like to see that. Yeah, and I had no knowledge of them or any of that, of that musical as their and would I be right in saying this one is not historical? No, it is just, um, modern dating. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like God, gen Z dating. Oh God. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That sounds rough. Um, but the. It's funny from what I've seen, I feel like I've seen it'cause it's on Instagram so much. But from what I've yeah, I believe you. They're funny. Yeah. Okay. Are you ready? I am ready. Take it off. We'll probably get a power cut or something.'cause this whole enterprise has been a little bit doomed. She's Trixie isn't. Let's do it. She's, yeah. There's something going on. Hi Kara. Hi Vicki. Hi, how are you? Yes, I am well, thank you. I'm ready to discuss our friend Artemisia Genki. Did you see how I just did the name then? No hesitation. You're so slick. Just then I'm committing. I'm committing Yes. Commit So welcome to teaching We've got lovely Kara And We are, we are, we're going to roam in the 16th century. But before we start, a bit of a serious note. the story today contains references to sexual assault and rape. And we won't dwell on it, but it is a fact of the life of the woman we're talking about. So if you wanna skip this one, look after your own wellbeing, that is fine. We're, we'll be here again next week with something else. So. That being said, let's begin, and I'll start with this. What does a baroque painter from 16th century Italy have in common with Catherine Ryan? What similarities are there between her and Judith Leiser, who we learned about in episode 24 of she changed history. What can we understand about their lives and work about how the arts benefit? From the determination of these pioneering women to take their place at the table. Let's meet Painter and Iconoclast. Artemisia Gentileschi. And our sources for today are Google Arts and Culture, the Crimson Blog and the websites of the National Gallery in London, the Liverpool Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Portrait Society of Atlanta. So our Artesia Gentileschi was born in Rome, Italy on the 8th of July, 1593, which means apart from everything else that's amazing about her, she shares a birthday with my husband. Um, yes, he's. He is not a Barack Art master though, so we're going to move on from him and talk about her. That's really disappointing, I know there's still time. He might turn it around. That's true. We'll, we'll see what he does next. We're treating him like enough, Yeah. Let's, let's give him a, let's give him a chance. Um, although to be fair, she started a lot younger than his current age, so maybe this is, anyway, his retirement thing he was on about would, would be, it could be his, his third act. You just never know. hundred percent. She, however, uh, was born into a family who had an established artist as a father, and she was born in the capital of Italy at a time when Italian art was absolutely thriving. So lots of parallels with Judith Laer. yeah. And I think it makes me wonder if having those connections, being in the right place at the right time is one of the factors that lets these breakthrough women artists succeed. yeah, without a doubt. it sounds like and that was. Millions the volume if there's that Some of that has right? Or has to be Just Yes. Statistically speaking. And she, she definitely bears that out, I think where, Judith Lacer was right in the crest of the wave. I think that, um, artemesia was kind of coming in after the time when. A lot of groundbreaking work had been done. So she's coming in after the Renaissance, the Ninja Turtle artist period. If, if you like, they were out there putting Italy on the map, and then she comes along at a time when the prevailing art style is the Barack style. Okay The VNA has given us a helpful definition of Barack, which I have sent to you if you'd like to read that. quote, A defining characteristic of Barack's was the way in together convey a single Barack directly It reflected the hierarchical and patriarchal of the time persuade as well. both rich and Barack is movement and drama. Yes. So, so maybe it's white male hierarchy and patriarchal. Yes, definitely. That is the absolutely the prevailing movement of the time. Really reflecting those values. But much like the Dutch period that you were talking about, perhaps moving away from, a more literal interpretation of biblical scenes say and starting to add a little bit of narrative around them. And that's gonna become important when we talk about her work, which we will do in a moment. she is stepping onto the scene. With these incredibly successful people all around her, her father included, but although she did manage to kind of hook into some opportunities, life wasn't necessarily all that easy for her personally. She's, just 12 years old when her mother dies and she has three male siblings, and then it falls to her, to be looking after them because she's the woman in the family now. Right. Yeah, of course. In spite of that, in spite of those responsibilities and expectations, she must have been quite skillful and quite persuasive because her father allowed her to train in his studio. Yeah. And. Very young. there's a letter from her father to his pal, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. And that's in 1612 when Artemesia is 19. And he says in that letter that she had already been painting for three years at that point. So, yeah. do you think let her do it unclear. Yeah. I think. Having the opportunity there, having the materials there, but even still, you get the sense from the source material that they were a wealthy family and that he was quite well established, but the materials at the time were incredibly expensive. The pigments that went into these paints, so. I mean, at, at minimum he was an indulgent father, which is not a bad thing. And perhaps at best, uh, you know, we could all use one of them, but at best, he actually saw something in her. And, we'll talk more, as a say about her actual, her technical ability, her actual work. Before we get there, unfortunately we do need to address some of the more difficult, details from her own history. So in 1611, uh, Artemisia was raped by a visitor staying at the family home. He, uh. According to some of the sources, was hired to be her teacher. At any rate, he was a guest and she was just 18. So this is a man, an adult man. Um, I am consciously choosing not to say his name because why should we remember his name? And she, at any rate, had him in her home and had this terrible thing happen to her. And. As maybe a further example of her father being a decent person, atypically the family, decided that they were going to press charges against the attacker. Yeah. So they, they pushed on with this legally and. Unfortunately, because of the culture in the time, the process of pursuing it through the courts was grueling. Yeah. The rapist and Artemesia are both questioned for more than eight months. It is a matter of kind of public spectacle. Artemesia testimony is even subject to torture using a device called the Sibil, which is a rope that's wound around the fingers and then tightened to cause pain, which I guess, I don't know. They torture her, her based on her, they tortured her. And I don't understand. I think I, I can't understand either. I, I think that the hope is that if someone continues to say the same thing whilst being tortured, that it must somehow be true because they're sticking with it. Like an old fashioned Yeah. I guess. In any rate, the court records are still available and Okay. we have a quote from her here, saying what she said whilst the bill was being used on her. So she says, quote, I have told the truth is true Then So he wanted to Oh, I know. Marry her as well. Yeah. So that's gonna make it right. I say in his mind it disgusting. Absolutely, absolutely unacceptable. And she's having none of it. She's, yeah. She's not to be silenced. She's not to be tricked. She is going to go about this her own way and put him where he belongs. And at the time of her trial, just to kind of. Show you the, the mindset of the woman we're dealing with. She's, again, she's only 19 years old. She wrote to a patron of hers in Sicily, and this is a quote from that letter I will show find the Oof. That's exciting. Yeah, she's, she's absolutely. A force and defiant in the face of what's going on with her. Yeah. And what a woman can do is quite a that's a strong sentence today, isn't it? If you had that on your be like, yes, And that just a bit about, this is probably. I shouldn't say this but the bit about I, you'll find the spirit of Caesar in the soul of a woman reminds me of black Atter with a little bit Queenie saying, I may have, what is it? I may have the body of a woman, but I have the stomach and the spirit of an iron elephant or something like that. Anyway, Eventually this horrible man is found guilty. He is then. Sentenced to banishment from Rome. Unfortunately, though that sentence is never enforced. We'll say banishment isn't. Yeah, we talked about this before and you were like, big, big work. You've told him he can't live in town anymore and then they don't even follow through with it. It's like, come on. Weak sauce. After a year or so of grueling, and her putting her. You know, putting herself out there. So, because she had more to lose than him, didn't she? Absolutely, absolutely. And in the end, he basically lost nothing, but she did not let that stop her the day after the trial, literally the day after she married her sweetheart, who is a fellow painter and maybe. They knew that something was gonna go down because they then moved to Florence immediately and right. So she left. She left. She was like, okay. She was like, I don't believe in your banishment. Off she goes, goes to Florence with her new husband to start her own career. And yes, her work is technically speaking. Excellent. There are, several paintings that I've included in this document for us to talk about. Which, maybe is a little bit of a weird thing to do in a podcast where it's an audio medium, but we're in it, We, we always put them on Instagram anyway, so if you Yes. Look at that's fabulous. percent. Wonderful. Um, that's. Brilliant because they are worth seeing. The first one that is included here is her self portrait as the allegory of painting, which we were lucky enough, Vicki and I to see in the Tates now UCS exhibition in the flesh. That exhibition was fabulous. It was all about overlooked or revolutionary women artists. And there was just rooms and rooms and rooms and rooms. Oh, we nearly didn't make a trip our bus home. We were so surprised by how much material was there. But, This specific painting has a brunette white woman leaning towards the viewer, and she's looking at something distant. Her hair is tumbling down. She's holding a paintbrush, she's holding a palette. She's wearing these beautiful silk gowns and on her neck, a chain with a little mask pendant. And I'm picking these details out because. They aren't random. In the Barack period iconography. So the representation of these images that were imbued with more meaning was serious business. They had a book called The Iconia of Caesar Repa. Oh my gosh. And that was there to tell them, this is what this saint looks like. This is what this allegorical figure looks like. And in this painting was supposed to be a woman. With dark, wild hair. Yeah. And a gold chain with a mask on it. And it was supposed to have a gag covering her mouth, and I think it's super interesting that Artemesia has left the mouth covering off. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it because No, I agree. I with what we've learn about her so far, that's not a step too far. We will talk about another self portrait.. The allegory of painting the woman in the image. If I wasn't clear, very much Artemesia painting herself in that role. That's the self portrait. Yeah. The second portrait that we're gonna talk about is, um, it is actually called self portrait as St. Catherine of Alexandria, and this is one that's held in the National Gallery in London. Mm-hmm. It's, a Caucasian brunette. Oh yeah. She is. She's holding a spiked. Broken wheel, which looks kind of like an a wagon wheel, but it was an instrument of torture. Um, right. They were all about the torture, weren't they in this time? Mm-hmm. She just has this look of steady, calm, I'm gonna say disappointment, like she's a bit. Yeah, unimpressed. Like, um, you know, That is what she just said is, you know, you've done wrong. Yes. When somebody's looking at you like this, and I think those things we know about her. Her past really help us understand perhaps what emotions are being conveyed through these images. This is what I struggle with in galleries her background plaque know what I mean? And I know galleries do their best knowing now about that I feel completely differently And it's, well, I've learned It is difficult, isn't it? And I think sometimes you're walking around the gallery and you're taking stuff in visually and maybe just sort of like piling it away, banking it in your mind. Yes. Because there's so much, because there is so much. And then later on you might get some little detail or some little nugget or historical fact and you'll go, oh. That's why all those paintings had lemons in them or whatever, whatever it may be. You're just, suddenly a little thing is unlocked and your brain goes, oh, yum, yum, yum. Thank you very much. And I think these historical facts about her. Do give you a context that, yeah, looking at the painting in the flesh, I'm like, I didn't know, I didn't read the Icono Logia of Cesar Rippa. I don't know. She's meant to have a gag over her mouth, yeah. Yeah. It's, it's really cool to come back and reflect on things like that. It is, and I really like this how How, I'm choosing to say it probably incorrectly is the Icono Logia. I think that's harsh. Yeah. Is that It feels quite universal like it A Dutch painter, but it a, that because you didn't that that was Right. And I think I think it also speaks to something that you guys talked about when you spoke about Grace O'Malley, which is that there is a set of rules and the decision to go against them. Is a conscious choice. I think, you know, the thing you were talking about is to look at the rules and say, nah, those rules are stupid. I'm not doing that. Is is a bold choice. And She was obviously capable. Oh, I wish I had more Rules. Rules have been for a reason. I'm a bit of a, of a control and rules enthusiast myself, so yes, I could use a little bit more defiance in my life. Maybe that's why these women speak to us so much. So as well as all that stuff that we're talking about there. There's also some really practical reasons why she's turning up as her own model. And, um, there's no photography obviously available to artists of the day. They can't photograph a subject. Artists models are expecting to be paid, and even If you're working with somebody whose pay expectations are super, super low, it's still expensive to pay them. There's a practical reason. It's a business. It's also, it's a business decision. And of course you're always there. You always have your own image, you know it best, and it's always free. There's another reason that the National Gallery puts across, which, if you could read this quote here. imagine that would be very black mirror that you'd have to say for your own reflection and say God. Um, so the National Gallery se quote, used her own in Florence, new to the city, I think that makes perfect sense. I think all these decisions just tell me a, this is it, she's. Actually thinking about how am I going to make this a profitable, successful industry? Because she's on her own now. she's yeah, yeah. She's savvy and I think that's incredible. she used her own image plenty. She was, she was a prophetess, she was a loop player. She was in the images above. We can see a lot of her personal story reflected in those images. Another example of that is probably her most famous work, which is a painting called Judith Slaying, Hal talk. And that's right. It's, it's, it's a big hitter. It's from the Bible, you know, the old Bible say. Yeah. and it is a gruesome one. It's, a woman. Beheading a man, a general who was staying, I believe in her guest house, and he had threatened to sack the city that she lives in. She's a widow. She is, she has resolved to murder him, and this painting depicts the murder happening right in front of our eyes. So I believe is gory, isn't it? It's super gory. There's two versions of it in the mix here, and I've got one is by the artist Caravaggio, who was a friend and mentor of Gentileschi, and then. Second, I have her version. So for comparison purposes, I mean it's not unusual for all the reasons we've talked about for multiple artists to cover the same scene of course. And it gives us such a cool way to compare how these different artists think and how they see the world. You look at Caravaggio's, Judith, and she's sort of disgusted and. She's pulling back. She's recoiling, she's horrified. Gentiles, Judith, she looks pissed off. She's he's fighting back in, in gentiles. she's not flinching from the task. She's covered in blood, but they are getting the job done and. This is an example of that drama that the quote from, the beginning talked about the drama of the scene. The drama of the lighting technique that they use. Mm-hmm. The chiro with the strong light, deep shade, all these emotional elements, the movement of the peace, the biblical subjects. It gives her an opportunity to showcase her worldview. Yeah. So. All of that being said, we'll talk about one more painting in a moment, and that is Susanna and the elders. And this is where Catherine Ryan comes to mind because Yes, I forgot about Yeah, Catherine Ryan. In her show Glitter Room, which I think was from about 2019, she talked about going to see Hamilton. Mm-hmm. as what we've all done, as we've all done, we talk about it. Probably too much, but obviously with great affection. I don't wanna spoil the bit. So if you haven't heard it, go ahead and Google. Catherine. Ryan Hamilton. I think you've heard it before. but in short, what she talks about in the bid, what she sort of highlights is that the plot. Of Hamilton at this particular moment, and the lyrics of the song that that show up in this bit of the plot are just so pervasive. It's just the water we swim in. And Catherine Ryan, despite the fact that she's enjoying the play, she's, fully respecting of the work, the writing, she's able to sort of step outside of it and go. Wait a minute. That sucks. Like that. That way of looking at things is not okay. And she does it in a way, unlike what I'm doing here. That is so goddamn funny. She's amazing. So do go, do, go look it up. It's, it's fabulous. But anyway, the reason I'm bringing it up at all is that Artemisia to kind of verb a noun, Catherine Ryan's the painting of Susanna and the elders. So. The Liverpool Museum talks about the scene we are about to, to look at. Okay. And, um, if you could read that description. Yep. So quote, the story of Susanna and lust and the corruption of Susanna tribe. When she confronted them, they threatened to blackmail if she refused to sleep with them. Mm. Um, is this biblical? Yeah. Oh, uh, she refused and they accused her publicly of having committed adultery for this. She was condemned to death. Oh my God. That spiral, didn't it? Oh, so grim. It's grim. Like, yeah. See, let a woman have a bath. Just sad. That's got nothing to do. Nothing to do with you. That really escalated. That's kind of the point, right? Because yeah. That that scene is painted again and again and again in classical painting. Probably because it gave these artists, these men, a chance to depict female nudity and still maintain the moral high ground. Look, I'm, it's in the Bible. I'm just saying what's in the Bible. it gets, oh It gets, it gets the blood boiling. Especially because usually in these depictions you've got Susanna kind of like. Oh, like flirty. It's peripheral. It's horrific. And it's so not what that story is about, but it, yeah, it's kind of, yeah, it's just wild. So Artemisia, technically it's a wonderful painting, but what really catches your interest is that Catherine Ryan thing that. She's taking a different perspective. So there's a quote here. She challeng it, she challenges it. Yeah. Could you give us this quote from the Crimson talking about her depiction of that scene? Yes. A frightened The work is triumphant of Barack to the clearly and powerfully that's good. So she's given valid yes. And a realistic response. I think it's not just, oh, here I can make some boobies. She's showing how a person would feel to be, to be put in that position, which would finger it? Yeah, absolutely. Disgust and outrage and fear. And then the shamefulness of it or the person who's stepping outta the bounds. It's the elders. It's where it belongs. And it was the point of the Rigg story in the first place. Yeah. Actually, not that I'm a biblical scholar, but Jesus, you don't need to be that astute to pick up on that. So despite of this. Defiant outlook and these quietly radical themes in her painting. Somehow we, see incredible career progression from her. Okay. So yeah. there's a quote here if you care to give it that talks a little bit about her career. Yeah. Quote In 1615 to 1616. At age 23, Artesia becomes the first female member of the De is Ana in Florence between interesting children. So we're climbing, we're birthing. Doing it all and that, yeah, that is, I cannot help but wonder. if that, how, yeah, like what has she managed to put into place that allowed her to keep working? What sacrifices is she making that allow her to keep working when many other artists like Judith Leiser had to take a step back simply for the fact that there was no. Other way for them at that time, once they had children. Mm-hmm. But whatever it was, however she pulled it off, whatever she gave up in order to do it. She made a commercial success of her work. Yeah. she even got to a level where she was kind of celebrity. She was invited to London in 1638, by Charles the first to work on portraits and commissions. Like you do. And once that happened, she was invited to the Royal Courts in Madrid and Vienna. She continued to have professional success in her lifetime until her death in Naples isn't it know her name? Yeah. She was the. The King of England commissioned her directly. know her I think high The fact that these things. Get lost? Her work, like a lot of other, women artists was sort of lazily, misattributed to prolific males who worked in a similar style at a similar time. So in her case, a lot of her work was attributed to Caravaggio. But in the long run and with a lot of effort on the part. Of catalogers and academics and historians. Her career was unearthed and now her work is correctly attributed and hanging in major galleries all around the world, as it was all along, just under, just with her name, and right now supposed, yeah, now we actually see it. Yeah. With the correct name attributed. So, I have a final quote here. Mm-hmm. If you would give it, and it talks about the lasting impact of her work, per the Portrait Society of Atlanta of approximately 60 40 dominated from the viewpoint Artesia. the lowly often and turned them into brilliant strong subjects Oh, well good. I know. I know. It's fabulous and so lasting and sort of. Respected is that impact that there is an artwork called The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago. Um, I think you've seen a picture of it, haven't you? I've seen it, um, but but I tell you what, I keep thinking Like I think that it would be worth seeing for sure. Yes. Where did we discover it? It's like in the Bronx or something? In the Bronx Museum. I mean, which is a bit scary, but you know that in 2020, maybe in three it four years time. Yeah. When indeed, when indeed, at some point it would be lovely to go and see it. We can. So for people who haven't seen it before, what we're talking about is this massive installation artwork. It's a huge triangular dinner table and there are 39 dinner place settings around this table that celebrate women from all different. Spheres, fictional and real. Mm-hmm. Of historical significance. So I like to think of it as the dinner party version of our podcast. Yes. And Vicki, you pointed out to me something I didn't know, which is that on the floor tiles underneath the piece, there are like, what, 111 or something further? Yeah, further names. The names, Oh, incredible. I feel like that's episodes done, basically. Right. It's just gonna be like an index. We're just gonna hit it. Um, so yeah, I mean, Gentiles, she's in there alongside boa, a name I cannot pronounce, boa. Bo. Baria I it the first time. Oh, I dunno. I know what you mean. One of them who? They're one of, one of them. Here's one I'm sacred with. Emily Dickinson. Eleanor of Acutane Sojo her truth. Yes. And here's Artemesia. And it just shows how revolutionary the simple act of painting from a woman's perspective was, so simple, but so powerful. A lasting value. And. whether it's the comedy of Katherine Ryan, the Art of Artemisia Gentle, what is being done here is that we are being shown that we can keep an eye open to the ways that we are just sort of accepting ah, that's just how things are. Yeah. And they're inviting us to, to attack that, to, to paint things, to make jokes to. I'm gonna use her quote to show the whole illustrious world what a woman can do. Oh, beautiful. I love it. It makes me wanna to kick down an iron door. I love it. Beautiful ending. I love it. Yeah,

audio2663295054: 35:54

Thank you for listening to this episode of She Changed History. If you enjoyed it, please like, subscribe and comment below. Find us on our socials, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. If you've got any ideas of women you'd like us to cover in a future episode, please comment on the socials or email us at She Changed history@gmail.com.