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ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI IMPORTANT PAINTER OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

FULL NAME: Artemisia Gentileschi

BORN: JULY 8, 1593, ROME, ITALY

DIED: C. 1652, NAPLES, ITALY

NATIONALITY: ITALIAN

“Birth of St. John the Baptist,” 1635 oil-on-canvas painting by Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi was the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, an accomplished Italian painter of the Baroque period. (Baroque design was grand and full of movement and a major artistic style in Renaissance Europe.) Orazio encouraged his daughter’s artistic skills, and they worked together on several paintings. Artemisia eventually moved to Florence, where she worked for wealthy art patrons, including the Medici family and the King of Spain.

STRONG WOMEN

Artemisia’s most famous works include “Madonna and Child,” “Susanna and the Elders,” “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” and “Cleopatra,” as well as several self-portraits. Her paintings often focus on active female characters who are equal to men. This was unusual at a time when women were usually painted as beautiful and passive. Very few women made it as Renaissance painters. However, Artemisia was successful during her lifetime, which is uncommon for any painter, but even more so for a woman in that period. She was also the first woman to become a member of the famous Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. She is now considered one of the best and most progressive painters of the time and a feminist icon.

FABULOUS FIRSTS
	FIRST WOMAN TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, FLORENCE, ITALY