Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Bruce Gulland and I'm Megan Nolette. Spotlight uses
a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no
matter where in the world they live. Imagine a painting of a woman holding
painting tools. Her black, wavy hair spills over her shoulder. She wears
green clothing and gold jewelry, but it is clear she has not taken much
time to work on her appearance. Her face is firm, she concentrates on
a painting. It is as if she and the painting are the only things
that exist. This painting is by the Italian artist Artimisia Zentileski. It is
a painting of herself, but Genileski is not only painting herself. She paints
herself representing the spirit of art itself. One of the few successful female artists
in Europe, Jendileski created paintings with strong women, and often she used herself
as a model. Though forgotten after her death, historians now believe she is
one of the most important artists of her time. Today's Spotlight is on Artemisia
Gendileski. Artemisia Gentiliski was born in fifteen ninety three in the Italian city of
Rome. Her father was the famous painter Orrazzio Gentiliski. Teaching women to paint
was not common in those days, but Orazzio soon saw that Artemisia had a
talent, and he decided to teach her more. By the time she was
seventeen, she was creating work of her own. One of these early paintings
was called Susanna and the Elders. It shows a story from the Catholic and
Orthodox Bible. In this story, two men in the community spy on a
beautiful woman named Susanna while she is bathing. The two men lust after her.
They demand to have sex with her. They attempt to sexually attack her.
Many other artists painted this story. Most paintings of the story show this
point in time, but the painters often show the setting as the men would
have seen it. Susanna is a victim, but she also seems to be
an object of lust. In many she seems to be inviting them. Susanna's
body is the ideal version of a woman. That body is the center of
those paintings. Artimisia's painting is different. It shows Susannah turning away from the
men attacking her. She pushes the men away from her. She hides her
face in shame. The painting centers not on her body, but on her
face. It looks away in disbelief and anger. Artemisia's painting is also interesting
because of how realistic it is. Other artists show Susanna as an ideal body,
but Artemisia Gentiliski Susanna has the body of a real woman. She may
have even represented her own body in the painting. Leticia Treves works at the
National Gallery of London. She spoke to The New Yorker magazine about Gentiliski's work.
The way she paints the female body is very natural. This is someone
who really understands the hang of a woman's breast. She has a real sense
of how a woman's body behaves. Susanna and the Elders is one of the
first paintings that shows a sexual attack as a woman would experience it, and
Artemisia painted it when she was just seventeen. Sadly, Artemisia would soon experience
the things she painted. Agostino Tassi was a painter and friend of Artemisia's father.
He sexually attacked Artemisia when she was just eighteen. Tassi promised Artemisia marriage
afterwards, then he went back on his promise. Artemisia and her father took
Tassi to court for the attack, but the judges forced Artemisia to testify.
The testimony was very public, and the court made her wear thumbscrews while she
spoke. These small metal devices of torture put pressure on a person's fingers.
These thumbscrews were supposed to make sure Artemisia was telling the truth, but it
was a painful and dehumanizing experience. Eventually, the court decided Tasi was guilty.
They sent him into exile from the city, but the trial was very
public. People saw Artemisia as a disgraced woman, but she was the victim.
She had done nothing wrong. She soon married a man named Pierre Antonios
Thetesi. Together they left for the city of Florence. She had to leave
the city where she was born because of one man's selfish actions. The pain
and suffering Artemisia went through would have stopped many people. Her work as a
painter could have ended, but Artemisia was a strong person. She continued to
paint, and she turned her personal experience into art. One of Artemisia's most
famous paintings is called Judith Beheading Holophernes. In the painting, two women stand
over a man in bed. The first woman appears over the man's head.
In one hand, she holds a sword. The other hand holds the man's
hair. The man struggles against her, but the two women hold him down.
The first woman brings the sword against the man's neck and pulls it across
his neck. The man's face is a mixture of pain and fear, but
the two women do not seem troubled. Their faces are serious. This is
a job that they must get done. This is another story from the Catholic
and Orthodox Bible. It shows a woman named Judith killing an enemy general in
secret. Other artists had painted this story before, but Gentiliski's version is personal.
She painted Judith to look like her, and some historians believe that the
man may look like Tassie. The painting may have been a way of getting
back at the man who hurt her. The painting not only shows a famous
story from the Bible, it is a way of showing that her experience would
not defeat her. Artimisia continued to paint for her whole life, and she
was extremely successful. She became one of the first women in Europe to ever
make a living from her artwork. She was even invited to join a famous
arts school in Florence. She was the first woman ever to join. Soon
people knew about her all over the continent. She made paintings for royalty in
England, Spain and Italy, and she did it all while giving birth to
five children. Still, Artemisia struggled because she was a woman. People often
paid less for her paintings, and when she died, people quickly forgot about
her. Historians saw her as strange. It was not until the twentieth century
that people began to rediscover her work. Her paintings often put women in places
of respect or power. These spoke to many feminist thinkers. She was a
woman who achieved high honor in a time that did not accept successful women.
She defeated her pain and became an important international artist. Art often helps people
get through difficulties or understand themselves. Have you ever made any art? What
did it teach you about yourself? You can leave a comment on our website
or email us at Radio at Radio English dot net. You can also comment
on Facebook at Facebook dot com slash Spotlight Radio. The writer and producer of
this program was Dan Christman. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom
and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by
Spotlight. You can listen to this program again and read it on the internet
at www dot Radio English dot net. This program is called Artemisia gentilist Ski.
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for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,