Artemisia gentileschi biography book
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An expert’s guide to Artemisia Gentileschi: fem must-read books on the Italian artist
“No in-depth study of Artemisia’s artistic achievements can ignore the fact that she was a woman in a man’s world”
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The Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi ( or later) is the subject of an eagerly awaited exhibition opening at London’s National Gallery this weekend (3 October January ). It will be the first major survey on the artist to take place in the UK and will include around 30 works, including the museum’s recently acquired Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (around ) as well as key loans such as Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (around ) and two versions of Judith beheading Holofernes (around and around ). The exhibition will also include the artist’s personal correspondence and—displayed in public for the first time—the original transcript from the rättegång in which the artist Agostino Tassi w
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Artemisia Gentileschi and a Woman’s Fury
»I will show Your Illustrious Lordship what a woman can do.« Artemisia Gentileschi
She was a star – and she was notorious. Artemisia Gentileschi, born in in Rome, garnered attention in her early years for her talent as a painter. At 17, she suffered her first dramatic stroke of fate when she was raped by her teacher, forced to marry after a high-profile court case, and then had to leave Rome. But her trials and tribulations did not end there. She also survived volcanic eruptions, bankruptcy, and the plague. She made a name for herself as a painter and became the first woman ever to be admitted to the Academy of the Arts in Florence – before making a triumphant return to Rome. She received commissions from the Pope and the nobility, and maintained her own workshop until her death. Her works were no stiff still lifes or dutiful portraits – they brim with an inner force and a desire for revenge, a sense of pride and rebellion. And with an impr