Let’s celebrate some women

I am always shocked when I hear how few female artists are represented in museums. Depending on whose numbers you look at, it is somewhere between 11% and 18%. Both numbers are upsetting considered about 46% of artists identify as female. That is alot of underrepresentation. I don’t have the answers to how this can change, but I do know that being more educated on female artists is one step.

So, let me introduce our first special guest…

Artemissia Gentileschi was born in 1593 in Florence, Italy.

At a time when it was unusual for a woman to be an artist, she not only painted but took on the patriarchal society. During her teen years, she was raped by her art mentor. Although she demanded a trial and testified, he was given a menial sentence that was never enforced. Artemisia took this outrage to her art.

She is most known for her interpretation of Susanna and the Elders. She painted the artwork to represent Susanna’s experience of two older men leering at her. This was the first time that sexual predation was presented from the viewpoint of the victim. She made a statement with that artwork, resistance to sexual attacks was legitimate. This seems like a small point in modern day, but look at this through the eyes of the 1600’s.

Artemisia was one of the first known women to have a successful career as a painter, a rarity when most women did not have a vocation outside of her home. At one point she was given the decision to be a nun or study under her father as an artist.

She is now known for her technical skill, especially her use of lights and darks. She was a master at chiaroscuro (a heightened relationship of light and dark). You can see this skill in the artwork here. She uses the light to make the woman the center of attention. Everything else seems to sink into the background and we are drawn into this woman’s life. She was also known to paint villains and demons to look like the man who raped her. Considering the times she lived in, it is amazing that she was able to continue painting.

Thank you to Artemisia for standing up to societal norms at the time.