Bethel University Women in Visual Art

Friday, September 16, 2016

A Video About Artemisia Gentileschi

Caravaggio's Depiction of Judith Beheading Holefernes

Here is the painting I mentioned during Friday discussion. Caravaggio (who Gentileschi was very influenced by, and to whom many of her paintings were misattributed for a long time) also painted the a version of Judith beheading Holefernes. I post it here so you can compare and contrast the two images for yourself. There are no doubt a lot of similarities. The differences, however, are the most telling about the attitudes of each individual artist:

Judith Beheading Holofernes

Caravaggio

1598-1599

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Terms of the Day for September 14

The Baroque - a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music. The style started around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread to most of Europe.
Tenebrism - from the Italian tenebroso (murky), a style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image.

Slide Images for September 14

Caravaggio

The Conversion on the Way to Damascus

1600

Caravaggio

The Incredulity of St. Thomas

c. 1601-1602

Elisabetta Sirani

Portrait of Anna Maria Ranuzzi as Charity

1665

Elisabetta Sirani

Portia Wounding Her Thigh

1664

Artemisia Gentileschi

Susanna and the Elders

1610

Tintoretto

Susanna and the Elders

1555-56

Artemisia Gentileschi

Judith with Her Maidservant

c. 1618

Artemisia Gentileschi

Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes

1625

Orazio Gentileschi

Judith with Her Maidservant

c. 1610-1612

Giorgione

Judith with the Head of Holefernes

1504

Giovan Giosefa dal Sole

Portrait of a Woman as Judith

c. 1620s

Artemisia Gentileschi

Judith Slaying Holefornes

c. 1618

Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting

1630s

Monday, September 12, 2016

Terms of the Day for September 12

Mannerism - From the Italian word maniera, meaning “style”, this was a period of European art that emerged in the late Italian Renaissance. It is influenced by, and is a reaction to, the harmonious ideals and restrained naturalism of Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
The Protestant Reformation – a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led to the creation of new national Protestant churches.
The Counter-Reformation – (also known as the Catholic Revival or Catholic Reformation) The period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1543–1565) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War (1648) as a response to the Protestant Reformation. The reforms put in place were designed to attract people back to the Catholic church and to increase its strength. It also involved political activities that included the Roman and Spanish Inquisitions.