Artemisia Gentileschi
Feminist Expression in "Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting"
Artemisia Gentileschi created her reputation as an artist through the depiction of strong and notable women at a time when women in art, especially the female nude, were objects for male consumption. Although Artemisia’s name came to be known throughout the world, her fame was more closely linked to her identity as a woman than to her talents and abilities as a painter.
Background
Artemisia Gentileschi was the victim of rape at a young age at the hands of her painting teacher, Agostino Tassi. Critics and viewers alike have used this event as an automatic translator for her works. Paintings like her Self-Portrait are largely ignored in favor of more violent pieces like her Judith Slaying Holofernes (1618-20).
These pieces, showing strong women in positions of aggression toward men, have come to be considered the mark of Artemisia’s work despite the many paintings she produced with more pleasant themes. In her Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, she presents another kind of painting that expresses her identity as a woman and a painter.
Artemisia's Artistic Identity
Artists in the Renaissance were concerned with their identities as artists. Self portraits were extremely popular. Male artists were burdened with a dilemma involving representing themselves. By creating an image of themselves in possession of the tools of the trade (i.e. brushes, paints, and palettes), clearly identifying the subject as an artist, men risked relating too closely with the process of painting and therefore with a class of craftsmen.
In order to present themselves as noble, tools and studio settings could not be included. This left the artist with no clear way of distinguishing himself from other noblemen. The only answer was to present themselves in the presence of the allegorical figure of painting, whether in an image or as an actual visitation, which would suggest the artist’s role.
The most commonly accepted allegorical figure comes from Cesare Ripa’s definition of the proper appearance of the allegory of painting. Ripa described the personification of painting as a woman with unruly hair, a covered mouth, vividly colored clothing, and the golden mask of imitation on a golden chain. Artemisia, because of her unique position as a female artist, was able to represent herself in this role, therefore showing a clear association with art and divine inspiration.
In casting herself as the allegory of painting, Artemisia conformed to many of Ripa’s requirements for Pittura while making some changes that marked the piece with her own individual quality as an artist. Artemisia’s Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting shows the artist with untamed hair, brush and palette in hand, and the requisite golden mask and chain.
She asserts her independence by discarding Ripa’s image of a covered mouth, while simultaneously showing off her skills by creating a vivid and luminescent fabric that seems to reflect various colors in the light.
Gender and Renaissance Culture
Women during Artemisia’s lifetime were expected to conform to certain expectations that included submission to male guidance and acceptance of domestic roles without independent choices. Women in acceptable society were not considered appropriate sources for imagination, intelligence, or inspiration. When a woman with Artemisia’s undeniable talent made herself known, she was often dismissed as neither an artist nor fully female.
Artemisia’s work was often overlooked or discounted. A popular method of dismissal was to attribute Artemisia’s work to the studio of her father, Orazio, an extremely successful artist whose name was known throughout European art circles. Attributing the paintings to Orazio made Artemisia nothing more than a student or apprentice to a great man.
Artemisia's Art: Effect and Meaning
Artemisia forced her society to question the roles of male and female in the creative process. She paved the way for later female artists seeking to make their own names in a male dominated art world. She used her position as a married woman to protect herself from slanderous labels that had brought down earlier successful women, like the sculptor Properzia de’Rossi. Her talents and skills were, nevertheless, seen through the filter of her identity as a woman.
Sources
Bissell, R. Ward. Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.
Cropper, Elizabeth. “Life on the Edge: Artemisia Gentileschi, Famous Woman Painter.” In Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, edited by Keith Christiansen, 263-81 New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001.
Garrard, Mary D. Artemisia Gentileschi Around 1622. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001.
Pollock, Griselda. Differencing the Canon: Feminist Desire and the Writing of Art’s Histories. New York: Routledge, 1999.
-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
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