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Artemisia
The catalogue accompanying the blockbuster exhibition at The National Gallery, London, which The Guardian has called 'epochal' and 'superbly curated'
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654 or later) is the most celebrated woman artist of the baroque period in Italy. Her career spanned more than 40 years, as she moved between Rome, where she was raised and trained by her father, Orazio Gentileschi, to Florence, where she gained artistic independence and became the first female member of the city’s academy of artists, and to Venice, London, and Naples. Often featuring heroic female subjects, her paintings were predominantly intended for private clients. Today they are recognized for their dramatic power and originality, showing Artemisia to be one of the most compelling storytellers of her time. This beautiful book includes essays on her life and career; a discussion of her personal and artistic relationship with her father; a summary of critical writings and an overview of the wide range of approaches to Artemisia’s work since her rediscovery by feminist art historians more than 50 years ago; a more personal insight into Artemisia through her letters; a discussion of the artist’s self-representation in her work; and an essay dedicated to her painting technique.
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654 or later) is the most celebrated woman artist of the baroque period in Italy. Her career spanned more than 40 years, as she moved between Rome, where she was raised and trained by her father, Orazio Gentileschi, to Florence, where she gained artistic independence and became the first female member of the city’s academy of artists, and to Venice, London, and Naples. Often featuring heroic female subjects, her paintings were predominantly intended for private clients. Today they are recognized for their dramatic power and originality, showing Artemisia to be one of the most compelling storytellers of her time. This beautiful book includes essays on her life and career; a discussion of her personal and artistic relationship with her father; a summary of critical writings and an overview of the wide range of approaches to Artemisia’s work since her rediscovery by feminist art historians more than 50 years ago; a more personal insight into Artemisia through her letters; a discussion of the artist’s self-representation in her work; and an essay dedicated to her painting technique.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 25, 2020
The essays at the beginning of the book aren't really worth reading unless you're a dedicated art historian, however the essays that accompany the plates themselves are very informative, and the reproduction of the art is magnificent.
December 27, 2020
This book is a great introduction to Artemisia’s life story and work. The essays in the beginning give a great idea about Artemisia’s character by detailing major events in her life. I also enjoyed pragmatic analysis of Artemisia’s work, and the accompanying text of the catalogue paintings provides further insight into her oeuvre.
February 13, 2021
A wonderful source for the life and work of Artemisia presented in a sumptuous catalogue. The essays in the first half of the book are written by experts in their field and give an amazing insight into different aspects of Artemisia’s life. These are followed by beautiful plates of her work each individually described. A true delight of a book. 5 stars are insufficient.
November 7, 2022
- "her ability to change modes in keeping with local taste or clients' wishes sometimes attracts a tinge of criticism that is less prominent in the discussion of contemporaries who made even more radical shifts in response to local circumstances, such as Honthorst or Vouet" (Keith: 103)
- "The saint enjoyed enormous popularity in the seventeenth century and, as Mary Garrard points out, the predilection for representations of Catherine in Florence may be connected to the presence of Caterina de' Medici in the city until February 1617" (Treves: 144).
- "this the only one of her compositions in which a naked candle flame appears. Artemisia must have been inspired to do so as a result of the growing demand for candlelight scenes being produced principally by Northern and French artists in Rome" (Treves: 181)
This book is about the exhibition on Artemisia Gentileschi that took place at London's National Gallery of Art in late 2020. The book includes the artworks that were part of the exhibition plus descriptions of these artworks and some essays.
However, there is nothing new about Artemisia in this book. Anyone that has read about Artemisia previously may find this book uninteresting. I did not feel there was any new ground-breaking idea but just repetition or expansion of old ones.
All of the pictures are in high resolution, which is nice. I enjoyed reading the theories about where Artemisia painted an artwork. The fact that images of Massimo Stanzione's paintings are included is a clear way to show how Artemisia changed her style so that her Birth of Saint John the Baptist looked stylistically coherent with those by Stanzione.
If you are new to Artemisia Gentileschi, please read this book. If you are already familiar with her ouevre and life, you can easily ignore it.
- "The saint enjoyed enormous popularity in the seventeenth century and, as Mary Garrard points out, the predilection for representations of Catherine in Florence may be connected to the presence of Caterina de' Medici in the city until February 1617" (Treves: 144).
- "this the only one of her compositions in which a naked candle flame appears. Artemisia must have been inspired to do so as a result of the growing demand for candlelight scenes being produced principally by Northern and French artists in Rome" (Treves: 181)
This book is about the exhibition on Artemisia Gentileschi that took place at London's National Gallery of Art in late 2020. The book includes the artworks that were part of the exhibition plus descriptions of these artworks and some essays.
However, there is nothing new about Artemisia in this book. Anyone that has read about Artemisia previously may find this book uninteresting. I did not feel there was any new ground-breaking idea but just repetition or expansion of old ones.
All of the pictures are in high resolution, which is nice. I enjoyed reading the theories about where Artemisia painted an artwork. The fact that images of Massimo Stanzione's paintings are included is a clear way to show how Artemisia changed her style so that her Birth of Saint John the Baptist looked stylistically coherent with those by Stanzione.
If you are new to Artemisia Gentileschi, please read this book. If you are already familiar with her ouevre and life, you can easily ignore it.
February 22, 2026
The catalogue of the Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition which was at the National Gallery in 2021 (and which I never managed to get to, alas). I don’t often read an exhibition catalogue from cover to cover, but this one I did, and loved it. The illustrations are breathtaking (so many portraits of strong women), and Gentileschi led an extraordinary life. She had to invest a lot of effort into marketing her work, and cultivating rich patrons… and as a married woman she wrote sexy letters to her lover (complete with reference to masturbation). A group of prominent art historians collaborated to produce this volume, and it's impressively scholarly as well as being very accessible to the general reader.
September 24, 2021
Deze catalogus geeft een zeer uitgebreide en gedetailleerde beschrijving van de werken, die onderdeel uitmaakten van de schitterende tentoonstelling ‘Artemisia’ (National Gallery te Londen, 2020), en het intrigerende en turbulente leven van Artemisia Gentileschi. Ik kan alleen maar betreuren dat ik de tentoonstelling niet heb bezocht… Wat een vrouw, wat een schilderes! Gelukkig is een aantal van haar werken vanaf zondag 26 september te zien in het RMT in Enschede. Ik voel me vereerd om rondleidingen over deze tentoonstelling met de titel ‘Artemisia: vrouw en macht’ te mogen gaan geven. Komt dat zien!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews