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Despite being placed in a nunnery, Artemisia Gentileschi, still wants to be a painter, something that is seen as against God in 17th century Italy. The Pope having decreed no woman can paint a nude male nor enter the Academy. Instead she studies under her father Orazio embracing new techniques to his chagrin. Artemisia's journey as a painter is mirrored by her sexual awakening. Her father's rival, the debauched but brilliant Agostino Tassi arrives in town and Artemisia decides to learn from him, if he will take her as a student. A true story, expertly crafted and sensually photographed of the liberating journey of the world's first accredited woman painter.
Review
A mesmerizing display of passion, innocence, outrage and desolation --Film Review
A particularly beautiful looking movie. --Empire
A particularly beautiful looking movie. --Empire
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Roman Clodia
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
This film looks ravishing but it actually flattens and simplifies a far more complex and disturbing story. Artemisia Gentileschi was a Renaissance painter, the first female to be admitted to the Academy in Florence, and the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, a friend of Caravaggio.
When still in her teens she is raped by her father's artist collaborator, Agostini Tasso, and when the case is brought to court (the first recorded rape case, complete with testimonies) she, the victim, is the one put on trial, tortured to try to force her to detract, which she refuses to do. Shamed as a 'dishonoured' woman, she is then married off and sent away to Florence, where she paints out some of her anguish and anger in some of the most vivid, disturbing, powerful Renaissance paintings we have.
The film takes this factual basis, but twists it out of recognition: Artemisia here falls in love with Tasso and they become lovers; her father finds out and tries to stage a rape trial in order to force them to marry; and Artemisia is tortured in order to agree it was rape rather than that she was a willing lover. The pair are separated (a la Romeo and Juliet) and she leaves Rome voluntarily.
This travesty turns a transgressive woman into something much tamer, and elides some of the power of her paintings: given the film's scenario, it makes no sense that in one of her first paintings (Judith and Holofernes), she paints herself as Judith cutting off the head of a Holofernes with the likeness of Tasso - it only comes clear if we accept that he was her rapist, not her lover.
So a beautiful film visually, but it does a severe disservice to a great female artist.... Read more ›
When still in her teens she is raped by her father's artist collaborator, Agostini Tasso, and when the case is brought to court (the first recorded rape case, complete with testimonies) she, the victim, is the one put on trial, tortured to try to force her to detract, which she refuses to do. Shamed as a 'dishonoured' woman, she is then married off and sent away to Florence, where she paints out some of her anguish and anger in some of the most vivid, disturbing, powerful Renaissance paintings we have.
The film takes this factual basis, but twists it out of recognition: Artemisia here falls in love with Tasso and they become lovers; her father finds out and tries to stage a rape trial in order to force them to marry; and Artemisia is tortured in order to agree it was rape rather than that she was a willing lover. The pair are separated (a la Romeo and Juliet) and she leaves Rome voluntarily.
This travesty turns a transgressive woman into something much tamer, and elides some of the power of her paintings: given the film's scenario, it makes no sense that in one of her first paintings (Judith and Holofernes), she paints herself as Judith cutting off the head of a Holofernes with the likeness of Tasso - it only comes clear if we accept that he was her rapist, not her lover.
So a beautiful film visually, but it does a severe disservice to a great female artist.... Read more ›
By P. Howard
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was disappointed that this film didn't follow Artemisia into her years of success as the first female member of the Academy of Art in Florence - but I think the director wanted to titillate as well as educate - maybe more of the former! The sequence where she is tortured for her refusal to confess her relationship with her lover is gruesome but did help me to understand exactly what they did to her and how nearly she lost her precious ability to paint - which certainly explains why she got kinda mad at men thereafter as so forcefully depicted in so many of her paintings!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars
45 reviews
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not the true story...
29 Jan 2000
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
When this movie was first released, due to the outcry from the feminist and art history communities, Miramax had to remove their claim that it was "the true story of the first female painter in art history." Actually, it is practically a complete inversion of Artemisia Gentileschi's real story...she was in fact raped by Tassi (the 'love interest' in the movie) and maintained her stand *against* him even under torture (as is documented in the records of the trial). The film romanticizes and sexualizes her and their relationship to an almost soft-porn level while giving hardly any screen time to her actual work and using her paintings out of context...which is a shame, because the real story of this remarkable woman would have been just as dramatic if not more so.
58 of 72 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Politically incorrect, and thought provoking
5 Sep 2001
By Susan E. Wood
- Published on Amazon.com
This film is a must-see for feminists and art historians although (or perhaps precisely BECAUSE) it may make you angry. It is a beautiful, intensely sympathetic study of the young Artemisia Gentileschi, her struggles to learn and grow as an artist in a society that makes it very difficult for her to do so, and her relationships with the men in her life. Artemisia has no desire to be the feminist role model that she later became (how could she? The word and concept of "feminism" didn't exist in her day), she just needed to paint. The part of this movie that infuriated feminists is its portrayal of her relationship with her much older and very disreputable teacher Tassi as consensual, rather than as a violent rape, followed by a relationship in which Artemisia reluctantly cooperated because he had promised her marriage.
According to modern definitions, of course, Tassi was guilty of some form of rape, whether Artemisia said "yes" or "no," because she was only 17 at the oldest, and he took advantage of his position of power. But there may be some truth in the movie's version of their relationship; Artemisia wouldn't be the first or the last young woman to have a crush on an older teacher, and to try out her powers of sexual attraction without fully understanding the consequences. It's true that the movie probably whitewashes Tassi's character in order to portray his relationship with Artemisia as a love story. In the actual trial transcript, Artemisia mocked him bitterly when they applied the thumb-screws to her hands during testimony, saying, "This is the wedding ring you promised me!" If she had ever felt any affection for him, it was gone by then. But if you allow the film some leeway for artistic license, it presents a fascinating study of how even a seemingly devastating experience like the rape trial and scandal could be part of an artist's growth. Artemisia's later career was not that of a poor, wronged victim; she went on to become a very successful painter.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Historical accuracy set aside for theatrical drama
8 Aug 2001
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
If you are looking for a seventeenth-century period piece (full stop), this movie will satisfy your wishes. However, if you're looking for an accurate biography of "one of the first great women artists" (which is NOT necessarily the case--there were other notable female artists prior to this Baroque painter), DO NOT rely on this movie. Most frustrating is the portrayal of Gentileschi as a nearly mute pubescent girl in a constant state of sexual awakening (the rather steamy beach scene near the beginning of the movie is almost unbearable). Gentileschi's near silent portrayal is equally upsetting during the tumultuous events at the end of movie. While this reviewer does not want to give the plot away (although any recent art history book on Baroque painting can fill you in on the ups and downs of her life and career), Artemisia's silent demeanor was, according to historical records, NOT the actual situation (in other words, she did speak up for herself!). Interest in Gentileschi has peaked during the past few decades, with the rising interest in women's issues/feminist topics/etc. However, I am not sure whether this movie will help or hinder the average movie goer's understanding of this seventeenth-century artist. Keep this in mind, viewers!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
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