When requested to ‘consume a book,’ I was drawn to the work of Artemisia Gentileschi due to her conquests in the art world as a female painter. I chose to study the book ‘Artemisia Gentileschi Around 1622, The Shaping and Reshaping of an Artistic Identity’ by Mary D. Garrard, an American Art Historian, considered to be ‘one of the founders of feminist art theory.’ This book provides a deep insight into the artist, rather than placing focus on her disturbing past of which consumed her career.

In a male dominated art world, Gentileschi was considered to be incapable of any artistic originality as she was a woman. She was known as the ‘famous rape victim’ due to her subjection of sexual exploitation from a male superior- of which provided a twisted fascination with her artwork under male speculation. Garrard claims that, “for the male viewer, it was the painter more than the painting that titillated. And the story of her rape would only have added spice” (pg 109). Her art was considered to be a thing of beauty and sexuality as her audience would project her experiences and her beauty onto her work.

Despite Gentileschi’s many hardships in the art world, it is overlooked how she resisted gender classification throughout her life, working entirely alone; with very little help to gain a place in the masculine art market.

Bibliography:

‘Artemisia Gentileschi Around 1622, The Shaping and Reshaping of an Artistic Identity’, Mary D. Garrard, University of California Press, 2001