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Hello, it’s Mattie here for another #StillSeeingThings takeover. This afternoon we’re dipping into the work of Artemisia Gentileschi with the help of @NationalGallery
It is an understatement to say that we at GWL are big Artemisia fans and relish an opportunity to reminisce about the time she lived in our kitchen through her ‘Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria’
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/artemisia-gentileschi-self-portrait-as-saint-catherine-of-alexandria
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/artemisia-gentileschi-self-portrait-as-saint-catherine-of-alexandria
Here is a four minute video introducing this incredible artist and feminist icon https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/artemisia-gentileschi
Artemisia painted a number of self-portraits including ‘Self Portrait as a Lute Player' (about 1615-17) and in her letters refers to using herself as a model because of how expensive it was to hire models https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/artemisia
... It is likely too that she was aware of the power of her own image and was able to use it as a tool for self-promotion...
...The self-portrait was a powerful tool used by artists of the time to portray themselves as they wanted to be seen - much as today we might use our social media or linked-in profiles to craft an image of ourselves as we want the world to see us...
… Her Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, which she painted while in London, is an example of this. http://artsandculture.google.com/asset/self-portrait-as-the-allegory-of-painting-la-pittura-artemisia-gentileschi/fAHok0QVLkyJXQ
Artemisia was particularly well known for depicting Biblical heroines such as Susannah, Judith, Cleopatra, Lucretia and Esther. @NationalGallery tells us about these women and Artemisia's depictions of them here : http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/artemisia/five-heroines-by-artemisia
One of her most powerful painting is 'Judith beheading Holofernes' (about 1612-13). I love this painting and not only for the blood and gore but also for it’s display of women’s strength and their strength in numbers https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/artemisia
Extracts from Artemisia’s letters, due to be shown @NationalGallery confirm that women’s strength was something she endeavoured to portray both through her depictions of these biblical subjects but also through her own strength as a painter
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/artemisia/artemisia-in-her-own-words
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/artemisia/artemisia-in-her-own-words
…One letter written in 1649, while defending the price she is charging for a painting reads "a woman’s name raises doubts until her work is seen". I wonder how many of us feel the truth of this statement nearly 400 years on...
... A few months later she proclaimed to the same patron: "I will show Your Illustrious Lordship what a woman can do."
Not only did she do this during her lifetime but still continues to inspire with her talent and her tenacity. My favourite Artemisia inspired work is this incredible poem from GWL volunteer @JayDeeSunshine http://womenslibrary.org.uk/2019/04/08/creative-response-to-the-artemisia-gentileschi-self-portrait-saint-catherine-of-alexandria/
