This is Allegory of Inclination by Artemisia Gentileschi. It was painted in 1615. The maiden in this piece has a certain girlish innocence in her face that reminds me of Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Perhaps this maiden is Artemis, The Greek goddess of the Moon, and possible namesake of this artist.
This painting definitely has some Mannerism tendencies with its cramped space and long forms.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful piece. Artemisia Gentileschi was famous for following Caravaggio and the use of Baroque art. She had a great sense of drama, realism, and expressiveness. She was the first female painter to become a member of the Accademia de Arte del Designo (Academy of Design) in Florence. I think that will the past experiences it really pushed her to be one of the first to female artist to paint historical and religious paintings. These would often include mythic-heroic women in situation that women were considered not to be able to do or was beyond a woman's reach at the time. This painting shows a women who has been referred to as an angle. She is nude and is holding a compass. It is hard to find any information on exactly what she wanted to represent. I think she left it to interpretation. It is said that the subject bears a resemblance to her. For me, knowing her past, I feel that this would represent her using the compass to steer her in the direction that her life needs to go in at that time. Her use of paint to make all the textures look so real is amazing. The cloth flows and folds like it is real, clouds looks soft, and the hair's textures are so realistic. I also enjoy how she uses the light.
ReplyDeleteI love the difference in the texture of the cloths. The artist did a great job in the modeling of forms. The clouds do bother me, they don't really look puffy and light, and they look more like stone to me.
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