Artemisia Gentileschi – the first feminist

A feminist artist from the 17th century who survived sexual abuse – this alone can attract attention. And this very popular Caravaggist corresponded with Galileo during her lifetime, was friends with Van Dyck, and was accepted into the Florentine Academy of Painting.

The name of the Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi became famous in the 1970s, when an international feminist organization made her a symbol of its movement. Artemisia’s popularity in certain circles is so great that not only feminist communities are named after her, but also “women’s hotels”. However, the fame of the “first feminist”, alas, did not contribute to an objective assessment of her artistic legacy.

Familiarity with the artist’s biography does not always help to understand his art. So what if, for example, Georges de La Tour had eleven children? But, as my teacher at the university once said, this is the only thing that students remember about La Tour. The general public is not much different from students: they prefer to savor the facts of the artists’ biographies to contemplating paintings. However, in the case of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1652/1653), biography and art are so inextricably intertwined that without an idea of her bright and, undoubtedly, extremely dramatic life, it is impossible to understand the art of this outstanding artist of the 17th century.

The epithet “outstanding” is quite appropriate here: Artemisia entered the history of art not only because she belonged to the weaker sex (which was a rare exception to the rule in an era when the history of art was created by men), but also because she managed to take an equal place in it with male creators. Incidentally, Artemisia’s role was also understood by her contemporaries; it was not for nothing that she was the first woman to be accepted into the Academy of Drawing in Florence.

The beginning of Artemisia Gentileschi’s biography was, however, quite traditional for most female artists: she was the daughter of a painter, and a very significant one at that – Orazio Gentileschi (1553-1639), one of the most original followers of Caravaggio in Italy. It is clear that her father was the first teacher of Artemisia, who showed her talent for painting very early: a completely professional painting “Susanna and the Elders” is dated 1610, so the artist was 17 years old at the time. (There is still no consensus on the attribution of the painting, some art historians believe that it was painted by Artemisia’s father, or that he, at least, took part in its creation. However, the signature states quite clearly: “Artemisia Gentileschi”).

Seeing his daughter’s talent, Orazio Gentileschi turned to the landscape painter Agostino Tassi, with whom he was collaborating at the time, to teach Artemisia the art of perspective. And here begins a rather heartbreaking story that became the reason for the trial. Agostino Tassi, known for his violent and cruel nature, raped the young student. Quite a few documents have survived that are related to this sad story, and we can reconstruct it in some detail. From Orazio’s statement of claim, it is clear that Tassi, having dishonored Artemisia, meanly led her by the nose, promising to marry her.

As it turns out, in Italy there was such a special “case” of marriage – nozze di riparazione, when, for reasons of honor, the man who seduced the girl married her in church. Apparently, this is somehow connected with the ancient Roman custom of kidnapping future wives (the Abduction of the Sabine Women). Artemisia’s father was aware of what had happened and hoped that the marriage would take place; he even gave Agostino Tassi several paintings (apparently, Tassi was supposed to paint landscape backgrounds), which is also stated in the lawsuit. However, Tassi had long been married by that time, which neither Artemisia nor her father suspected.

The morals of the Roman artistic bohemia of the early 17th century are striking in their cruel cynicism. Tassi invited Artemisia on country walks with friends, in order to later, during the trial, accuse her of dissoluteness. And Orazio, in fact, forced his daughter to go through a trial, which included brutal interrogations in the presence of the rapist and even torture, making the story public. Tassi spent eight months in prison and was then released. By the way, Gentileschi’s trial was not the last in Tassi’s life; later he was accused of organizing the murder of his own wife, which did not prevent him from being an excellent artist and, among other things (namely paintings and landscape frescoes), becoming a teacher of Claude Lorrain.

As for poor Artemisia, she married a certain Stiattesi and went to Florence, where, despite what happened, she managed to become a successful artist. And to make it clear that the heartbreaking story of rape was not just told for the sake of a catchphrase, we note that throughout her life Artemisia had a special interest in depicting either women who had been subjected to male violence (Susanna, Bathsheba), or heroic women who managed to gain the upper hand over men (Judith, Esther). We are not strong in psychoanalysis, but numerous feminist art historians, who have dedicated not only articles but also novels to Artemisia, launch into long discussions on the theme of love/hate between teacher and student, father and daughter.