artemisia gentileschi, susanna and the elders Flashcards
(43 cards)
date
1610
where is the story of susanna and the elders extracted from
Biblical Legend from the Book of Daniel
story of susanna and the elders
-occurred in Babylon, a reoccuring place in the bible, during the Jewish Exile of the sixth century BC
-Susanna was the beautiful wife of a wealthy and prominent Jew, Joachim, at whose home the Jewish community was accustomed to gather.
-Two Elders of the community (sometimes described as judges) who frequented the house became secretly attracted to Susanna and conspired to seduce her.
-Hiding in the garden where the beautiful woman habitually bathed, they sprang upon her the moment her maids were gone, demanding her sexual submission, and threatening, if she did not yield to them, to denounce her publicly with the accusation that she had had an adulterous relationship in the garden with a young man.
-Although the crime with which she as to be falsely charged was punishable by death, Susanna resisted the Elders’ demands, and they accordingly spread their rumour.
- She was brought to trial on their evidence, convicted, and sentenced to death
-but at the last minute, the young Daniel came forward to claim that her sentence was based upon false witness, and to demand a new trial. Daniel himself conducted the investigation, and by the device of interrogating the Elders separately, asking each man under which tree it was that the alleged act took place, was able to elicit the conflicting evidence
-Accordingly, it was the Elders and not Susanna who were put to death, for the crime of false testimony. they were found guilty of ‘denouncement of property’
how old was artemisia gentilleschi when she painted this
18
who was her father
orazio gentilleschi
her relationship with her father
her father orazio gentilleschi recognised her artistic talent at age 15 so didnt send he to get married or to a coventry and took it upon himself to tutor her
artemisia often posed nude for her fathers paintings, in an era when women couldnt pose naked in front of men for art
why could she pose naked for her father
She was her father’s property.
when did her father start training her
1609
who did artemisias father ask to teach artemisia and what was he to teach
Agostino Tassi
teach complex perspective effects, trompe l’oeil
what heppened between artemisia and Tassi
during tuition him and his friend consistently harrassed her, took advantage of his position and made her uncomfortable as she was aware of the dangers to her reputation
Tassi raped artemisia and promised to marry her after destroying her honour.
in self defence artemisia stabbed tassi
Artemisia found out he lied and had a wife and told her father who took him to court for denouncement of property
-artemisia was tortured during trial but eventually won due to stab wound found on tassi showing it was unwilling sex, but tassi only went to prison for a short period
timeline of court case
-started 1612
-lasted 7 months
-Agostino depicted Artemisia as an incessantly flirtatious and insatiable whore
-Artemisia was subjected to the torture of the sibille metal rings tightened by strings around fingers - she had to prove that she was telling the truth.
-In the end it was proven that she had had unwilling sex due to a stab wound found on Tassi.
-he stayed in prison for only 8 months
despite this being painted BEFORE the rape, how does it relate to her identity
-felt opressed as a woman
-like susanna she was ‘property’ of a man
- Artemisia suffered sexual harassment from various Roman males in the year leading up to her rape by Agostino Tassi. AND tassi and his friend had been persistently harrassing her
*Another possible, but less likely, explanation is that the picture was painted shortly after the rape, but falsely inscribed with the date of the preceding year, a decision that could have been taken by Orazio for the purpose of establishing his daughter’s early competence as a painter
what was tassi taken to court for
denouncement of property (women considered mens property)
how does this peice represent artemisias personal identity
signifies her sexual torment from tassi
familiarisation with being identified as property by a man like susanna- shows her understanding of the limitations of her gender
how does this peice show identity of women
-appreciates the suffering of all women due to masculine dominated world and masculine desires
-commentry of objectification on women as ‘property’
was artemisia a feminist
This is Artemisia’s feminist revision of the story – although this is a modern term it does not mean that it was impossible to have a pro-female position or bias in an overwhelmingly pro-male world. Artemisia had a feminist outlook (‘feminist spirit’ – Mary Garrard), not a feminist agenda.
*Artemisia’s uniquely sympathetic treatment of the Susanna theme is more than explained by the simple fact that she was a woman.
was susanna and the elder a feminist story
no, it was about a husbands rights over his wife
how did artemisia duplicate her fathers style in this peice
the pallete
glazing
modeling of skintones
detailing of costumes
all show the influence of her father
colour palette
mimics michelangelos frescos
Artemisia’s cool violet, mustard-green and grey-blue closely echo his frescoes.
medium
oil on canvas
techniques
subtle chiaroscuro dramatises scene
how is susanna presented
-as an aguished victim of sexual assault, shows how artemisia shows sympathy to subject instead of romnticising it like others
how is susannas vunerability portrayed
nude
overpowered by two men
vertical format makes it seem like elders press down on her showing transgression of boundaries
*Awkward pose and nudity convey her full range of feelings – anxiety, fear and shame.
*The taut muscles of her legs and arms heighten our sense of the victim’s distress and vulnerability.
vulnerability is emphasised in the awkward twisting of her body.
how does it resemble venus pudica
*Strained flesh of her body as she is in extreme torsion, resembling the crouching classical Venus Pudica.
