Who was Artemisia Gentileschi?

Artemisia Gentileschi was a Baroque painter that contributed with a feminine perspective for the recurrent themes of her period.

She was considered as one of the most accomplished painters in the generation following Caravaggio. By that time, women were not easily accepted by the artistic community or patrons.

She is famous for painting many examples of strong and suffering women from the Bible and mythology as victims, suicides, warriors.  Her best-known work is Judith slaying Holofernes a well-known medieval and Baroque subject in art, the painting shows the decapitation of Holofernes, a scene of horrific struggle.

She painted the same subjects of many of her male contemporaries, but always giving a different perspective, the perspective of a woman. It is clear that with her work she tried to empower women images.

Curiosities:

• • Artemisia Gentileschi was the first woman to become member of the Accademia di Arte del disegno in Florence.
  • Artemisia Gentileschi was regarded as a curiosity for many years, but this has changed and today she is regarded as one of the most progressive and expressive painters of her generation.

References:

• Art History Archive – Artemisia Gentileschi
• Art and the Bible – Artemisia Gentileschi
• Wikipedia: Artemisia Gentileschi (English and Italian)