Artemisia Gentileschi, Briefly.

 

Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian woman who was tremendously talented. She studied under her father, Orazio Gentileschi who had several commissions throughout Europe including the Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence. It is my opinion that her work was much better and rawer than her father's both technically and emotionally. Her subject matter, especially in her early years, was a reaction to her rape by her father's associate and fellow artist, Agostino Tassi, around 18 years of age. "Judith Beheading Holofarnes" is a magnificent example of this angst. He was also accused of stealing a painting of Artemisia's and charges were brought against him. Unfortunately, Artemisia was the one who suffered as she was the one who was truly on trial and had to prove the rape while being subjected to torture methods and very violating and public examinations to determine rather or not she was still a virtuous woman. Tassi was convicted but never served time. Artemisia was married off to Pierantonio Stiattesi, a Florentine artist. In Florence she enjoyed the patronage of the Medici family and became the first woman artist admitted to the Academia di Arte del Disegno, a MAJOR accomplishment for a female artist in this time. Artemisia developed a lifelong, close friendship with Galileo while in Florence and was invited to paint a ceiling panel of the gallery of paintings by Michelangelo Buonarroti the younger, the nephew of the infamous Michelangelo. Artemisia moved back to Rome in search of lucrative commissions with which to support her two daughters and not finding the situation as lucrative as she had hoped, she went to Venice. She died in Naples in 1652 having left behind an amazing legacy.

Artemisia Gentileschi, briefly

 

Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian woman who was tremendously talented. She studied under her father, Orazio Gentileschi who had several commissions throughout Europe including the Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence. It is my opinion that her work was much better and rawer than her father's both technically and emotionally. Her subject matter, especially in her early years, was a reaction to her rape by her father's associate and fellow artist, Agostino Tassi, around 18 years of age. "Judith Beheading Holofarnes" is a magnificent example of this angst. He was also accused of stealing a painting of Artemisia's and charges were brought against him. Unfortunately, Artemisia was the one who suffered as she was the one who was truly on trial and had to prove the rape while being subjected to torture methods and very violating and public examinations to determine rather or not she was still a virtuous woman. Tassi was convicted but never served time. Artemisia was married off to Pierantonio Stiattesi, a Florentine artist. In Florence she enjoyed the patronage of the Medici family and became the first woman artist admitted to the Academia di Arte del Disegno, A MAJOR accomplishment for a female artist in this time. Artemisia developed a lifelong, close friendship with Galileo while in Florence and was invited to paint a ceiling panel of the gallery of paintings by Michelangelo Buonarroti the younger, the nephew of the infamous Michelangelo. Artemisia moved back to Rome in search of lucrative commissions with which to support her two daughters and not finding the situation as lucrative as she had hoped, she went to Venice. She died in Naples in 1652 having left behind an amazing legacy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Self-portrait_as_the_Allegory_of_Painting_by_Artemisia_Gentileschi.jpg

Migration Period Art

By the end of the 6th century, the Western Roman Empire had been almost entirely replaced with small Germanic kingdoms of people, including the Visigoths, Angles, Saxons and the Huns that had migrated from Scandinavia and other points in Eastern Europe. These Kingdoms shared common traditional features but due to the nomadic nature of these people historically, they encountered many different cultures and ideas which presented itself in their artworks. An example of this is the purse cover found at Sutton Hoo. Constructed in gold and enamel using the animal style, the purse cover features a standing man between two facing animals. This figure first shows up in Mesopotamian art about 3,200 years earlier. Other facets of the ornamentation include interwoven patterns containing parts of fighting animals and interlacing bands of decoration. Migration Period art was mobile art with a utilitarian function, such as weapons, tools and jewelry to fit in with a nomadic existence. The art of the Germanic peoples is almost entirely personal adornment, portable, and taken to the grave where it would act as an offering to dead spirits for protection of the living as exemplified by archeological finds such as the ship burial at Sutton Hoo. No monumental architecture or sculpture of permanence has been found to contradict this finding. Furthermore, the objects found at Sutton Hoo are important because they demonstrate the exchange of designs and techniques through contact with different cultures encountered. These objects have relation to the art of the Germanic people, Scandinavian roots and make reference to Christianity. Some scholars have speculated about the crosses on the Sutton Hoo Clasps and silver bowls with crosses on them also indicate an awareness of the new religion. The portability, assimilated styles and durability of materials used in the art of the migration period clearly indicate its creators were migratory people.