The Life of Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi was born in Rome in 1593. Her father was Orazio Gentileschi, a very well-known artist in Rome at that time. At this time, men ruled the art world. This was the post-renaissance era, and women were only involved in portrait painting. She was known for painting religious and historical scenes, paving the way for other female artists. She received training from her father in her early years as an artist. Gentileschi, tragically, was raped by an artist who was friends with her father. He was exiled from Rome when put to trial. She also lost her mother when she was 12. Her childhood and young adult years were not easy. Through her struggles, she managed to overcome all odds and make her work known in an art world run by men.

Artemisia continued an affair with Agostino under the promise of marriage, when the marriage never happened, her father brought charges against Tassi and a trial ensued, to which Artemisia was tortured during a gynecological examination for the trial. Again life imitating art and a testament toward the women depicted in her paintings. Miss Gentileschi married a man named Pierantonio Stiattesi and they moved to Florence. As mentioned, Artemisia had 5 children, however only her daughter Prudentia survived into adulthood. After her mother's death in 1656, Prudentia disappeared from history.

Gortyn was a city-state populated by descendants of the Mycenaean’s and Dorian settlers. Greek city-states that were settled by Dorians including Sparta, gave greater rights to women then city-states, which instead were settled by other tribes. In Ancient Greece, it could be argued that many saw adultery as an act, which was worse than rape. The Gortyn law Code could therefore be classed as unusual as in there is a punishment albeit only financial. ‘If one commit rape on a free man or woman, he shall pay 100 staters …and if a slave on a free man or woman he shall pay double, and if a free man on a male or female serf, five drachmas, and if a serf on a male or female serf, five drachmas.’ The fine is largely determined by the difference in social status between the victim and the accused. A free man raping a slave is the lowest fine and a slave raping a free man or woman is the largest fine. Free women seem however, to have a respected place in society if raping a woman is seen as a punishable offence, which in the ancient world wasn’t always seen as that. It emphasises how Gortyn society valued omen based on what social class they adhered

The main region Zodiac Killer has terrorized is San Francisco Bay Area. Zodiac killer has not be caught yet. There are a list of suspects. According to surviving victim Mageau, the man was white, 5'8" to 5'9", late 20s to early 30s, stocky build, round face and brown hair.

Artemisia Gentileschi's Madonna and Child, was created during the Baroque Period, c. 1609 (Brash), when the Catholic Church was sponsoring the arts to return to traditions Protestantism had disregarded (Baroque Artists). Created in Rome, this painting shows the mother, Madonna, holding her child, the young

It would be easy to assume that thousands of years later, the rape culture evident in ancient Rome would have evolved, changed significantly, or quite simply been eradicated, but in this world, there still exists many similarities between ancient Rome’s rape culture and modern rape culture. In Livy The Early History of Rome, we read the founding myths which shaped Rome. These stories include the tale of Romulus and Remus, but I will be talking about their mother, Rhea Silvia who was made into a Vestal Virgin, raped, and imprisoned, and how her story relates to the modern world. Although rape is not as pivotal in modern countries’ narratives as it was in Rome’s history, the culture and actions towards rape have remained the similar.

Mary Cassatt is known world-wide for her impressing art in which she focuses mainly in the everyday life of women and children. She is an American artist born in Pennsylvania on May 22, 1844, but later relocates to Europe in 1866 to pursue to work in art. This was mainly due to her family’s and society’s objections to women in the field of art. There she met and befriended famous Impressionist Edgar Degas. Because of her close friendship with Degas, she grew courage to continue to do art in her own way. She continued to paint until she slowly began to lose her eyesight and later died in 1926. Cassatt was part of the Impressionist style movement, in which she painted portraits unlike many others who painted landscapes (biography.com). Her artwork

“Before the rape I felt good. My life was in order. I was getting ready to get married. Afterward everything changed. I kind of lost who I was as a person…

Artemisia Gentileschi was not the first to paint Judith Slaying Holofernes. Her father had painted Judith. Michelangelo, Botticelli and Caravaggio had painted Judith. Donatello had sculpted Judith. But she was the first to interpret the story of Judith, in a time when women had few rights, as an allegory for female dominance. In comparison with other contemporary versions, the composition, dramatic style, and emotions of the characters present a violently feminist view that may have stemmed from Gentileschi's own experiences.

Alessandro Filipepi most commonly known as Sandro Botticelli was born in Florence, Italy around 1445. Botticelli began studying under Renaissance painter Fra Filippo Lippi at the age of 16 and would go on to become one of the most acclaimed artists in Italy during his lifetime. During the Renaissance, art

Many of the social reformists do not address the fact that their efforts were misplaced. The reason that there are prostitutes is because there is a market for them. Attempts to solve the prostitution problem, “never reached out to the male sexual desires on which the entire system of prostitution was founded.” It was considered natural for men to want sex and for them to look outside of their marriages for satisfaction. By 1730 there was a quite an acceptance by legal authority that “some men were likely to need a sexual outlet that for whatever reason was not available to them in marriage.” Even with this acceptance of prostitution as a necessity, those that provided that service were still denigrated and considered to be a scourge on the public.

This is when she began painting. Bored with nothing to do, she begged her father to use his paints. She had never studied art, but was able to teach herself to paint by studying paintings of the Italian Renaissance. She painted for her visitors and relatives who were willing to pose for her, and eventually wound up giving her paintings away as gifts.

"Art HERstory: Artemisia Gentileschi | M.I.S.S.." Pop Culture Lifestyle Network- Pop Culture and Lifestyle Blog. N.p., 24 Feb. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. <http://www.missomnimedia.com/2010/02/art-herstory-artemisia-gentileschi/>.

Similarly, the image of Madonna Enthroned was painted by Cimabue in Italy during the 13th Century, an interesting period of the country’s religious and art history. It was during the 13th Century that Italy was on the brink of a great revival known as the Renaissance. Cimabue’s work represents the best of the Byzantine Tradition. Cimabue is also the well-known teacher of Giotto, one of the leading artists of the Italian Renaissance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimabue

Many people stand oppose side of the death sentence because they think human have no rights to play God-have control over human lives. However, even more, people agree with a death penalty. According to National Conference of State Legislatures, there are 32 states in America that utilize the death penalty. The number of the annual death penalty never surpass the hundred (Statistic Brain) and more than half of the people (65%) agree with this method of sentencing. Death penalty provides an effective form of punishment for crimes involving the conviction of one person for the intentional killing of another person, it should be agreeable punishment for reasons: to save the budget, to lecture and to warn the potential criminal, and to provide happiness for the majority, including the victim and her/his relatives (public vengeance).