Art With Bre: Artemisia Gentileschi and Jacques-Louis David, 17th and 18th Period

Breanna Castaneda

Art History

Terry Long

Artemisia Gentileschi and Jacques-Louis David

Artemisia Gentileschi was a female, Italian Baroque-style painter and is still considered today to be one of the most accomplished painters of her generation following the works of Caravaggio. In an era where female painters were not easily accepted by artistic communities or patrons, Artemisia ultimately became the first female painter to be accepted by the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence, Italy. Later, in the late eighteenth century, Jacques-Louis David embodied a new style of painting not seen before. This new style came to be known as Neoclassicism, marking a change from the current Rococo style of painting and introducing a preference for classical influences.

While both were very accomplished, they were from different eras and different styles. Artemisia referenced images of strong women of biblical and mythological origin. In her first painting, “Susanna and the Elders”, a young girl, naked, vulnerable and distressed is sexually harassed by her two assailants- the elders. This painting reflects the Baroque-era influence in its drama and in its appeal to the viewer’s emotion. In another piece Artemisia has depicted Judith, a female figure in Christianity who signifies overcoming Satan and fleeting through Hell, violently severs Holoferne’s- a general in the Roman Empire. This painting echoes the Baroque style as Artemisia manipulates light amongst heavily darkened, pigmented colors and her inclusion of biblical figures offers a dramatic flair to the painting.

After the Baroque era artists entered a period known as Rococo. This period placed emphasis on lighter, pastel color choices rather than the darker tones of the Baroque period, and paintings often depicted frivolity amongst the subjects. Soon to follow the Rococo period, Neoclassicism took up. In Neoclassicism the emphasis is most stressed on form, proportion, a contained emotion and differs considerably form predecessors Baroque and Rococo intricate ornamental design- scenes often kept simple and uncluttered. Jacques-Louis David re-invigorated classical austerity and reflected ideas of his life during the transitioning period of the French Revolution. One piece in particular, titled “The Death of Marat” (1793) was designed to commemorate one of his comrades after he was brutally assassinated in his own home. David painted Marat’s face and body glowing in a soft light, his style reminiscent of classical art captured Marat mirrored as a Christian martyr. David’s classical training in Rome is beautifully displayed in this piece and Caravaggio’s influence is recognized, just as it is in Artemisia’s work.