Artemisia Gentileschi: A Renowned Female Painter

Artemisia Gentileschi
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Artemisia Gentileschi
A Renaissance Italian painter, Artemisia Gentileschi is one of the most influential and significant female painters in history. Being a painter in a time where female artists were disregarded and ignored, Artemisia Gentileschi overcame endless obstacles, becoming a success story that has been recognized and celebrated globally. Scholars, feminist activists, and critics acknowledge and celebrate the unique and informative works created Artemisia, characterizing her as a skillful, and independent female artist whose work places her as an early feminist. Her achievements, challenges, and controversies surrounding her life have been a subject of numerous interpretations, with early feminism taking lead and beating all odds to become both a famed and successful painter. Artemisia Gentileschi’s struggle for self-expression and professional independence against a repressive patriarchal establishment and in an era that undervalued female artists produced a remarkable and early feminist whose work has inspired numerous feminist movements in art.
In a successful career spanning over four decades, Artemisia Gentileschi rose in the ranks to become one of the most influential female artists of all times. Born in the 16th century, Artemisia became a significant figure in her field, becoming successful in a field that was traditionally considered a man’s job (Bissell, 1968). The chronology recorded by Bissell (1968) notes that Gentileschi was born in an average family that comprised of the father and mother, Orazio Gentileschi and Prudential Montone, and five brothers. Artemisia achieved prominence in her work at a time when women were considered inferior to men, marking a critical achievement for her as a female painter. Her struggles are evident in her early life when she was raped by Agostino Tassi, her father’s friend turned rapist and her subsequent victory in the rape trial that lead to the jailing of Agostino Tassi (Bissell, 1968; Cohen, 2000). Despite her humble beginnings, Gentileschi rose to become an influential painter whose work is admired to date.
The artistic success of Artemisia Gentileschi is attributable to her never-ending desire to learn, her passion and expert painting skills, as well as the unwavering support of her father. From an early age, Lajta-Novak (2012) notes that Orazio Gentileschi, Artemisia’s father, tutored her daughter, turning her into a successful and influential artist. Criswell (2016) contends that her father was an important figure in the development of her painting career. Despite the patriarchal establishment of her era, Orazio Gentileschi brought charges against Agostino Tassi, his friend, a year after raping Artemisia (Cohen, 2000). Despite Artemisia’s rape bringing shame, anxiety, damaged reputation, and pain of torture and sexual assault, Artemisia testified against her rapist to salvage both her reputation and her career. In the aftermath of the trial, her reputation was restored following the completion of her most famous drawing, Judith Beheading Holofernes (Lajta-Novak, 2012). Artemisia’s self-dedication in art helped her overcome societal objections, becomi...