Artemisia (1593-1656) did not need any diversity program to be one of the greatest painters of all times!
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656) is the only real female painter of the Italian Renaissance.
Born in Rome, the daughter of another famous painter of that time called Orazio Gentileschi, she was raised in the atmosphere of his bottega, surrounded by his cartoons and his dreams of celebrity.
She showed more talent than her brothers. As a result Orazio, who was passionate and consumed by his art, developed a fondness and close relationship with his daughter.
The father and the daughter were so similar in their ways of thinking that, at a time when one was in Rome and the other in Firenze and with very little way of communicating with each other, they produced almost the same painting of Judith and Holofernes.
Artemisia did not have an easy life. At the age of 17, she was raped by Agostino Tassi, one of the students of her father’s workshop and waited to be married to him to clear her reputation. The father of Artemisia accused Agostino of rape in court, a long and very painful process that lasted more than 8 months.
Artemisia is extraordinary because through her paintings, she talks to us through history.
You can see the violence women are exposed to in Judith and Holofernes; you can see the difficulty of being an artist in her self-portrait. You can see the jealousy among beautiful females and the indiscretions of the servants. Artemisia created a stage in which we can observe protagonists the same way we could have if we had been part of these cities of the Italian Renaissance.
Artemisia is true to herself, Artemisia is true to her feelings. She does not hide behind mannerism and nice poetic details.
Artemisia is not afraid to be who she is. She is not afraid to claim that she is a female painter. She has a passion for her arts and proud to produce the most beautiful paintings of that time.
She talks to you with her exquisite drawings, she talks to you with her beautiful colors, she talks to you with the scenes that she chose to represent.
Artemisia did not need any of the so-called diversity programs to be the greatest painters of all times. She did not think about discrimination. She just acted on it and painted, painted, painted until she died.
At times of challenges, when you are feeling down, just think of Artemisia. Just think of expressing yourself and have faith in the future. If you are truly among the best of your generation, history will recognize you and remember you no matter what.