Artemisia (1997)
Director: AgnPs Merlet
Starring: Valentina Cervi (Artemisia Gentileschi), Michel Serrault (Orazio Gentileschi), Miki Manojlovic (Agostino Tassi), Luca Zingaretti (Cosimo Quorli), Emmanuelle Devos (Costanza), Frédéric Pierrot (Roberto), Maurice Garrel(The Judge), Brigitte Catillon (Tuzia), Yann Trégouët (Fulvio), Jacques Nolot (The Lawyer), Silvia De Santis (Marisa), Renato Carpentieri (Nicolo), Dominique Reymond (Tassi's Sister), Liliane RovPre (The Rich Merchant's Wife), Alain Ollivier (The Duke).
Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most accomplished early Baroque painters in the generation influenced by Caravaggio.
Historical Background:
1593 (July 8) -- Artemisia Gentileschi born in Rome. She was the eldest child of painter Orazio Gentileschi, who was a representative of the school of Caravaggio.
Artemisia learned how to paint from her father and, naturally, her style was also influence by Caravaggio.
1610 -- at age 17, Artemisia painted Susanna e i Vecchioni (Susanna and the Elders). The style had the realism of Caravaggio, but with influence from the Bologna school (with Annibale Carracci as one of its major artists).
1612 -- Artemisia was denied access to the professional academies for art. So her father hired the Tuscan painter Agostino Tassi to tutor Artemisia privately.
Tassi raped Artemisia and then promised to marry her to restore her reputation. When Tassi did not keep his promise, Orazio reported Tassi to the authorities. What followed was a 7-month trial. In the trial, Orazio and Artemisia learned just how bad a man Tassi was. Tassi had planned to murder his wife, had committed incest with his sister-in-law and planned to steal some of Orazio’s paintings.
To add insult to injury, there was a second rape. There was a crazy thought that a way to find out the truth, was to submit the accuser to torture to make sure the person would tell the same story under torture as the original story. Artemisia was tortured by using a device that would squeeze her fingers. Tassi was imprisoned, but for only one year.
1612-1613 -- Artemisia painted violent Judith beheading Holofernes" that most probably reflects her psychological desire for revenge.
1613 -- one month after the trial, Orazio arranged a marriage for his daughter to the average Florentine artist Pierantonio Stiattesi. The couple soon moved to Florence. Artemisia became a successful court painter, with the Medici family and Charles the I as patrons. One of her paintings was The Virgin Mary with Baby.
Artemisia had great success and she knew many of her artistic contemporaries, such as Cristofano Allori, as well as powerful people such as Granduke Cosimo II de' Medici and especially the Granduchess Cristina. She also knew Galileo Galilei and the nephew of Michelangelo, Buonarroti.
In Florence, the couple had five children (only one of which survived to adulthood).
1621 -- despite her success, Artemisia and her husband had acquired too many debts and to get away from the creditors they moved to Rome. Artemisia joined the Academy of Desiosi. Life in Rome was harder because she received fewer commissions.
between 1627 and 1631 -- she moved to Venice in the hopes of getting more commissions.
1627 -- birth of another daughter to Artemisia.
1630 -- Artemisia moved to Naples, still seeking more commission opportunities. Except for a brief trip to London and a few other journeys, she remained in Naples for the rest of her life.
She raised her two daughters, had good relations with the Vicere' Duca d'Alcalà and relations with artists such as Massimo Stanzone. She actually began an artistic collaboration with Stanzone.
1638 -- Artemisia joined her father in London because he had become the court painter for Charles I of England. She and her father began to work together on decorating a ceiling in the Casa delle Delizie of queen Henrietta Maria of France in Greenwich.
1630 -- her father suddenly died.
by 1642 -- she had left England as civil war approached. .
1649 -- Artemisia began corresponding with Don Anontio Ruffo of Sicily, who had become her mentor.
1650 -- in her last letter to her mentor, she stated that she was still fully involved with her painting.
1653 -- death of Artemisia.
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