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A painting that inspired me!
Today is the Artemisia Gentileschi’s birthday, she was born on 8 July 1563.
I’d like to celebrate and pay homenage to her tremendous talent and above all her courage. Artemisia was one of the rare woman’s painters of her times. Despite she has been the victim of prejudice and malicious chatters to have reported her rape, perpetrate by an important and powerful painter, she was a brillant and estemeed painter.
Judit and her maidservant, 1618
This figurative painting represents two standing feminine figures. Judit, a Jewish heroine and biblic character and her maidservant.
Colours are natural and compatible with the realistic light. Rich and vibrant where direct light hit the canva and subdued and pale where not. Pose and gestures are well described and absolutely natural, tragic in their evoking naturalism.
The painting is an oil on canva with a semi portrait format, framed in a carved golden wood of 114X94 cm, housed in The Palatina Gallery in Florence
The structure of the painting is apparently very simple with a clear centred point of view, but the composition of the two figures are stronghly twisted from the central point to the right upwards, creating a strong movement quite similar to a spiral or to the origin of a tornado.
Yes! A Tornado, because the composition is impressive and spreading power and energy, like a tornado that has just start to twirl!
The painting represents two woman, both standing close-up. Judit in the background, lavishly dressed with a golden embroyed extraordinary gown, is placing an havy and noble sward on her own shoulder. In the foreground indeed, her maidservant humbly yellow dressed, rear painted is carrying a poor wicker basket with inside the horrible head of the soldier Holofern. So, Judit and her maidservant are two ancient heroines, they have just killed the usurper and violent enemy of the Jewish people.
But What exactly is going on?
Judith and the maid have clearly commited a terrible crime, “the Crime” a murder! Tension is high and palpable. Everything was made in secret, no one, or just a few known.
But something unexpected happened very close to them. Both suddendly twisted their busts upstreams, in a violent and swift torsion. Now they are scared! Judith seems to protect her maid posing a protective and staunch hands on the maid shoulder, her face and gaze, despite the youth his transformed in a resolute and brave heroine face! The sword is ready to move and hit in order to protect both.
I thought this painting is a manifesto of bravura and high tecnical skills thanks to which she was able to use the light to overdramatize the scene, the composition made me feel inspired and moved!
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5 Replies
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Oh wow @Rubina, I find this painting super creepy! I love the history behind it – excellent job with your critique.
Let’s have a look at some corrections:
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You see where I have marked red: she has been and perpetrate? Can you try and fix the grammar?
The same here:
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Finally, watch the spelling and word order (in blue).
Can you fix the word in red?
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Despite she had been (past perferct) ….she was (past simple) ??
Perpretated
Hits (3rd person)
Where is not
women
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Good @rubina
> Yes, we need the past perfect (course 6 is all about this!)
> Where is not – no. You are talking about the effect of where the light hits, so the verb in question is HIT not BE. So you need to write this:
rich and vibrant where direct light hits the canvas and subdued and pale where it doesn’t.
Got it? 👍
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