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Artemisia Gentileschi

1593-c. 1656 Italy/Baroque

 

Brief Biography-Artemisia Gentileschi, born in Rome in 1590, was the Disciple of her father, Orazio, whom she surpassed in portraiture. Caravaggio influenced her the most, and she painted in his style. Artemisia visited London, where her father was a court painter to Charles I, and there she painted much nobility. Unfortunately, she is remembered by many for the rape trial of Agostino Tassi, who was her tutor. She had her fingers tortured with thumbscrews under questioning, but Tassi was found guilty and sentenced to exile; however, they did not enforce the sentence. Her numerous paintings of violent scenes, for example, Judith Slaying Holofernes, are assumed to be a reaction to the rape; however, this is not certain. Her painting skills were equal, if not superior, to most male artists of her time. She spent three years in Florence and, in 1630, settled in Rome for the remainder of her life.

 

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Clio-The Muse
of History

Clio-The Muse of History

Allegory of
Inclination

Allegory of Inclination

Judith and her
Maidservant

Judith and her Maidservant

Beheading
Holofernes

Judith Beheading Holofernes

Sleeping
Venus

Sleeping Venus


Bathsheba

Bathsheba


Danae

Danae

St
Cecilia

Saint Cecilia Playing a Lute

Saint Catherine
of Alexandria

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Beheading
Holofernes II

Judith Beheading Holofernes two

Portrait of a
Condottiero

Portrait of a Condottiero

Susanna
and Elders

Susanna and the Elders

Self-portrait as the
Allegory of Painting

Self-portrait as the Allegory of Painting