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Violence and Virtue: Artemisia Gentileschi\'s Judith Slaying Holofernes by Eve Straussman-Pflanzer
wilde_book_garden's review
4.0
Fantastic analysis of Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith Slaying Holofernes", especially the painting's composition, comparison to similar works by other artists, and impact--and featuring beautiful color reproductions of her painting and a few belonging to other artists.
The only reason this isn't a full 5 stars is that I think there should have been more time given to the (famous) fact that Artemisia painted Holofernes with the face of her rapist. I understand not wanting to define this incredibly talented artist's body of work by her sexual assault, but for such a huge factor in the construction of the painting to get only one passing mention I think was a little strange.
Other than that, a really great piece. I especially loved learning about the reactions of contemporary viewers and artists (most of them being some version of 'yes, we know she's beheading someone, but goodness, she looks so MESSY and ANGRY!') and the changes Artemisia made to the canvas or other versions of the painting to give us the final look we can see today.
CW: References to rape
The only reason this isn't a full 5 stars is that I think there should have been more time given to the (famous) fact that Artemisia painted Holofernes with the face of her rapist. I understand not wanting to define this incredibly talented artist's body of work by her sexual assault, but for such a huge factor in the construction of the painting to get only one passing mention I think was a little strange.
Other than that, a really great piece. I especially loved learning about the reactions of contemporary viewers and artists (most of them being some version of 'yes, we know she's beheading someone, but goodness, she looks so MESSY and ANGRY!') and the changes Artemisia made to the canvas or other versions of the painting to give us the final look we can see today.
CW: References to rape
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