Artemisia Gentileschi [Paperback]

Mary D. Garrard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0691002851 | ISBN-13: 978-0691002859

Artemisia Gentileschi, widely regarded as the most important woman artist before the modern period, was a major Italian Baroque painter of the seventeenth century and the only female follower of Caravaggio. This first full-length study of her life and work shows that her powerfully original treatments of mythic-heroic female subjects depart radically from traditional interpretations of the same themes.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Garrard's in-depth study of Renaissance/Baroque painter Gentileschi is both timely and necessary. First, Garrard examines the life and work of the painter: the training with her artist father, the debt to Michelangelo and Caravaggio, the biblical and classical themes prevalent among her contemporaries, stylistic concerns, and her popularity, much-publicized rape, and influence. Then, using this information as context, Garrard proceeds to interpret the pictorial and spiritual contents of Gentileschi's paintings, contending that, while no one gainsays Gentileschi's skill, her true genius lies in her ability to empower mythic-heroic female subjects with "female artistic intelligence." In her novel, based on Gentileschi's life, Banti attempts to understand her own world, that of World War II Italy, through an imaginative and spiritual friendship with the 17th-century painter. Weaving back and forth between past and present, between a violated Artemesia and a violated Italy, Banti re-creates characters and landscapes. Through mastery of style and material, she builds a portrayal of courage and sorrow and creates a protagonist who moves from shadow to light. In both works, the final illumination belongs to the reader.
- Lucy Breslin, Portland, Me.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

[This book] is doubly welcome, both for its hitherto underrehearsed subject--one of the most accomplished female practitioners in the history of art--and for the exceptionally keen and questing intelligence which the author brings to her task. -- John Gash, Art in America

Garrard brings her subject vividly to life as few scholars of the period have done for other artists.... [Her] powerfully argued, intelligent appreciation of every facet of Gentileschi's difficult life and artistic contribution will bring the artist a large, new audience. -- Ann Sutherland Harris, The Women's Review of Books

If you read only one art history book this year, it should be Mary D. Garrard's Artemisia Gentileschi. -- Raymond B. Waddington, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900

Product Details

• Paperback: 607 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691002851
• ISBN-13: 978-0691002859
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Rococo
  • #46 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Baroque

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Read the Paintings for yourself, January 27, 2004

By 

Stephanie Goodell "starwildflowr" (Kailua-Kona, HI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Artemisia Gentileschi (Paperback)

If you want to travel into the mind of Artemisia Gentileschi, as Garrard obviously did, this book is an incredible asset to your journey. She takes you through Artemisia's life (Rome, Florence, Naples etc.) from the very first information to her death. Garrard has her ideas, but they are hardly overtly feminist or out of context. The intelligent reader goes beyond the author anyhow and reads the paintings. This book has copies of every known letter to have been written or received by Artemisia and most of her artwork, her complete rape trial, along with comparisons to her father's work and other artists that she had contact with. It is extremely fascinating and a more complete anayalis of an artist's life that I have yet seen. ...and about Susanna- don't tell me for a minute that the woman who painted that strength of repulsion wasn't being threatened (not necessarily by Tassi but likely Cosimo or even Francesco- think about it) have you ever seen a Susanna that genuinely apalled? Most renditions of the tale feature fear, surprise, or complete oblivion (allure even). Her Susanna is truly defensive and angry; horrified and disgusted.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not much on content, but quaility images., October 3, 2007

By 

James E. Gleason - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gentileschi (Rizzoli Art Series) (Paperback)

You don't learn much about Garrard as writer from this work. Garrard lets the art do all the talking. I was a bit dissapointed in that fact since I want to learn as much as possible about the life of the artist. This is something you should own if you want to own good copies of some of the major works of the artist. The plates are of large size and good quality. This is an excellent companion to keep at hand when doing research on the artist. Garrard makes interesting and intelligent choices in what works represent the artist at each time in professional life.

30 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 20th century psychology applied to a 17th century persona, January 8, 2004

By 

vassarcore "vassarcore" (vassar college) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artemisia Gentileschi (Paperback)

It's entirely unfortunate that Garrard has come to be considered the be-all-end-all of Gentilleschi scholarship. While the hefty opus features a wealth of research and a moderately well-illustrated span of pages, Garrard's feminist arguments do not line up. Citing the artist's "rape" by Tassi as a motivating force in the creation of her paintings featuring strong female characters, Garrard corners much of her argument on the Susanna and the Elders Gentilleschi painted a full year before the encounter with Tassi. Further, Garrard casts a 20th century feminist eye, and an accusatory one at that, upon the artist and her situation. She hardly considers the psychology of the 17th century, nor the legal definitions, where "rape" and its current emotional and psychological ramifications were hardly present. Indeed, court documents and statements show the artist and her father suing for marriage to save the family name; not once is there a mention of emotional hardship, but instead purely economic. Other sources depict a heated, smitten Artemisia, who continued her affair with Tassi for a year before discovered by her father, exposed, and forced to bring legal action against tassi. Conlusion: 400 years ago, forced sexual acts had not the same social identification of today, the psychology was different, and, honestly, Garrard neglects to illustrate the other sides of Artemesia and focuses on one event defining a life of artistic creation that, while reasonable for a 20th century situation, is unfounded for a Baroque.