FA 30b Lecture 18: Italian Baroque Lecture Notes
19 Mar 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Artemisia gentileschi"s judith beheading holofernes takes inspiration from caravaggio"s version and techniques. In ways the story of judith resembles that of david. Orazio hired a landscape expert to train her - agostino tassi. He was accused of rape, went to trial, and was found guilty. The proceedings, however, were not easy to undergo. Caravaggio"s judith looks odd and maintains a distance from holofernes. Holofernes looks decorative and theatrical, rather than realistic (in terms of the act of beheading). Gentileschi"s version has the maid in an active role, and the artist may associate with judith. The focus is on the violent act, unlike other works that focused on judith"s beauty. An early inspiration may have been a statue of judith by donatello. Artemisia gentileschi"s susannah and the elders was a parallel to the artist"s own life. Susannah was blackmailed by two elders, but found innocent by the prophet daniel.
