Italian painting of the late 16th and early 17th centuries is often overshadowed by earlier titans such as Raphael or Leonardo da Vinci, making it relatively unknown. However, this period in Italy produced original painters with outstanding artistic talent who are undoubtedly worthy of attention. This paper aims to trace the lives and oeuvre of two representatives of Baroque Italian painting: Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi. The focus will be on comparing their art and style.
The beginnings.
Both Michelangelo Merisi and his counterpart came from artistic families. Michelangelo was born on September 29, 1571, in the small village of Caravaggio in northern Italy. He was named after his birthplace. His father held a double status as an architect and majordomo to the Marquis of Caravaggio and was firmly established within that noble household. The Marquis, a patron in the Renaissance tradition, had several artists at his disposal.
Caravaggio began studying painting at an early age. It was common for Renaissance and Baroque painters to be destined from birth to become artists, which is why they knew their profession from the inside out. At the age of 13, Caravaggio’s family decided that he would devote himself to painting and apprenticed him to Peterzano’s studio in Milan. Although Peterzano was a poor painter himself, it was believed that he would not impose his opinion on his apprentices who would have their own opportunity to learn. This is the type of education that Caravaggio received.
Like many other women artists of her era, Artemisia Gentileschi was excluded from apprenticeship in the studios of successful artists. However, being the daughter of a painter, she was trained by her father Orazio Gentileschi and introduced to working artists in Rome. Among them was young Caravaggio, who at that time was one of the most famous and scandalous artists in the city. Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro style greatly influenced Artemisia’s work.
Artemisia Gentileschi was born on July 8, 1593, in Rome to Orazio and Prudentia Monotone Gentileschi. Unfortunately, her mother died when she was twelve years old. Despite having little schooling except artistic training, Artemisia had already produced one of her best-known works by the age of seventeen – a stunning interpretation of Susanna and the Elders painted in 1610.
It is worth noting that due to societal norms at that time, women were not encouraged to receive formal education or pursue careers outside their homes. Therefore it is remarkable that despite these obstacles and challenges faced by female artists during this period; Artemisia managed to become an accomplished artist whose works are still celebrated today.
In 1612, Artemisia was denied access to all-male professional academies for art despite her growing talent. Her father, Orazio, hired Tuscan painter Agostino Tassi to tutor her privately. However, the consequences were dramatic as Tassi raped Artemisia. Although he promised to marry her to restore her reputation, he later reneged on his promise and Orazio took him to court.
After a 7-month trial, it was discovered that Tassi had planned to murder his wife, committed incest with his sister-in-law, and intended to steal some of Orazio’s paintings. Artemisia underwent a gynecological examination and was subjected to torture using a device made of thongs wrapped around the fingers and tightened gradually – an especially cruel form of torture for a painter. At the conclusion of the trial, Tassi was sentenced to one year in prison.
A heavy psychological shock from violence and trial definitely influenced Artemisia’s later art, particularly her depictions of suffering or vengeful women. This trial also had a significant impact on the feminist view of Artemisia Gentileschi during the late 20th century.
Life and Work
Young Caravaggio went to Rome in 1592. He had already possessed fundamental technical skills of painting and acquired a thorough understanding of the approach of Lombard and Venetian painters. These painters developed a style that was nearer to representing nature and events, opposed to idealized Florentine painting. Upon arrival, he settled into the cosmopolitan society of the Campo Marzio neighborhood. This area consisted of inns, eating houses, temporary shelter, and little picture shops which suited Caravaggio’s circumstances and temperament. He was virtually without means and always strived towards anarchy and against tradition.
During the first five years of his career, Caravaggio experienced a period of instability and humiliation. According to his biographers, he was needy and stripped of everything[3]” and worked as an assistant to less talented painters, changing jobs frequently. He earned a living mostly through hackwork and never stayed at any studio for more than a few months.
In 1595, Caravaggio decided to establish his own studio and began selling his pictures through Maestro Valentino, a dealer who brought Caravaggio’s work to the attention of Cardinal Francesco del Monte. Del Monte was a prelate with great influence in the papal court, and soon Caravaggio obtained his protection. He was invited to receive board, lodging, and a pension in the cardinal’s house.
Although he had everything necessary to live and work, his violent temper prevailed. He had numerous encounters with the police and authorities until he ended up fatally stabbing his young opponent, Ranuccio Tomassoni da Terni on May 6, 1606 at Campo di Marzo.
After having to flee Rome, penniless and barely out of pursuit’s reach, he settled in Zagarolo under the protection of Duke Don Marzio Colonna. He then moved to Naples where his artistic reputation earned him several commissions. However, his behavior continued to worsen and he committed triple murder once again. Despite attempts at protection, his life was constantly fraught with danger and he spent the rest of it in constant flight.
In 1607-1608, Caravaggio traveled to Malta where he was received as an outstanding artist. He worked hard and completed several works, the most important of which was The Beheading of St John the Baptist for the cathedral in Valletta[4]. In this scene of martyrdom, the shadow that had previously stood thick about the figures has been drawn back. The infinite space that had been evoked by huge empty areas in earlier compositions is replaced by a high, overhanging wall. This high wall reappears in later works and can be linked to Caravaggio’s consciousness of condemnation to a limited space between narrow boundaries of flight and prison. On July 14, 1608, Caravaggio was received into the Order of Malta as a “Knight of Justice”. However, soon afterward he was expelled from the order and imprisoned either because word of his crime had reached Malta or because of new misdeeds[5].
After escaping to Sicily, Caravaggio landed at Syracuse in October 1608. He was restless and fearful of pursuit, but his glory assisted him. While in Syracuse, he painted his late tragic masterpiece, The Burial of St Lucy for the Church of Santa Lucia.
In early 1609, Caravaggio fled to Messina where he painted The Resurrection of Lazarus and The Adoration of the Shepherds. He then moved on to Palermo where he created the Adoration with St Francis and St Lawrence for the Oratorio di San Lorenzo.
The works that Caravaggio created during his flight were painted under adverse circumstances but show a subdued tone and a delicacy of emotion that is even more intense than the overt dramatics present in his earlier paintings.
Caravaggio’s endless and desperate escape could only come to an end with the Pope’s pardon. It is possible that he knew there were intercessions on his behalf in Rome when he moved north to Naples again in October 1609. Unfortunately, bad luck followed him as he was attacked and badly wounded at the door of an inn. Rumors even circulated that the celebrated painter” had died. After a long recovery, Caravaggio left Naples for Rome but was arrested when his stopover at Palo was interrupted. Upon release, he discovered that his belongings had been taken by the already-sailed boat. Determined to catch up with it, he arrived at Port’Ercole – a Spanish possession within the Papal States – where he died a few days later, likely due to pneumonia. A document granting him clemency arrived from Rome three days after his death.
The life of Artemisia Gentileschi was less disorderly than that of her teacher and mentor. One month after the barbaric trial, Orazio arranged for his daughter to marry Pierantonio Stiattesi, a modest artist from Florence. The young couple moved to Florence where Artemisia received an order for a painting at Casa Buonarroti and became a successful court painter under the patronage of the Medici and Charles I. During this period, Artemisia painted the Madonna con Bambino (The Virgin Mary with Baby).
Artemisia was the first woman to enter the Accademia del Disegno (Academy of Drawing). She maintained good relations with respected artists of her time, such as Cristofano Allori. Artemisia also conquered the favors and protection of influential people, starting with Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici and especially Grand Duchess Cristina. Additionally, she had a good relationship with Galileo Galilei and remained in epistolary contact for a long time. While in Florence, Artemisia and Pierantonio had four sons and one daughter; however, only their daughter Prudenzia survived into adulthood.
Despite her success, Artemisia and her husband faced financial difficulties during the Florentine period, resulting in problems with creditors. As a result, she returned to Rome in 1621, the same year her father Orazio left for Genoa. In Rome, Artemisia struggled to find housing and raise her daughters. Along with Prudenzia (born from her marriage to Pierantonio Stiattesi), she had another daughter who was likely born in 1627. Although Artemisia attempted to teach them painting, she was largely unsuccessful.
In 1630, Artemisia moved to Naples in search of new and more attractive job opportunities. Her Neapolitan debut is represented by the Annunciation in the Capodimonte Museum. Later, she permanently relocated to Naples and stayed there for the rest of her life, except for a brief trip to London and some other journeys.
Artemisia’s visit to London took place in 1638 when she joined her father at the court of Charles I of England. Orazio became court painter and received the important job of decorating a ceiling in Greenwich. Father and daughter were once again working together, although helping her father was probably not her only reason for traveling to London: Charles I had convoked her in his court, and she could not refuse.
The king of Britain was a devoted art lover who was willing to ruin public finances to follow his artistic wishes.
Orazio suddenly died in 1639. After her father’s death, Artemisia continued to pursue her autonomous artistic activity for a while, but there are no known works that can be confidently attributed to this period. By 1642, when the civil war broke out in England, Artemisia had already left the country. Little is known about her subsequent movements until she returned to Naples in 1649. During this second Neapolitan period, she corresponded with Don Antonio Ruffo of Sicily who became her mentor and good friend. The last known letter from Artemisia to her mentor is dated 1650 and indicates that she was still actively creating art at that time. Artemisia passed away in 1653[7].
Iconography Themes and Techniques
Caravaggio put the oscuro (shadows) into chiaroscuro[8]. Chiaroscuro was known long before him, but it was Caravaggio who made the technique definitive. He darkened the shadows and transfixed the subject in a blinding shaft of light, creating an acute observation of physical and psychological reality. This formed the ground for both his great reputation and his constant problems with religious commissions.
Caravaggio was known for his fast working style, using live models and drafting basic lines directly onto the canvas with the end of his brush handle. This approach shocked established artists of his day, who criticized his refusal to work from drawings and idealize his figures. However, Caravaggio’s realistic manner was achieved through his use of models. Some of these models were fellow-artists such as Mario Minniti and Francesco Boneri. He also used well-known prostitutes like Fillide Melandroni, Anna Bianchini, and Maddalena Antognetti (who was Caravaggio’s concubine) as female religious figures including the Virgin and various saints.
In several paintings, Caravaggio even included himself as a subject. His final self-portrait appears in the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula where he is depicted as a witness on the far right.
Caravaggio had the ability to express a crucial moment with unsurpassed vividness in one scene. For example, in the Supper at Emmaus, he depicts the recognition of Christ by his disciples. One moment before, he is a fellow traveler mourning the passing of the Messiah as he never ceases to be in the innkeeper’s eyes. The second after, he is the Savior. Another example is The Calling of St Matthew where we can see Saint Matthew pointing to himself as if saying who, me?” while his eyes fixed upon Christ have already said “Yes, I will follow you.” With The Resurrection of Lazarus, Caravaggio goes further and shows us the actual physical process of resurrection. Although Lazarus’ body is still experiencing rigor mortis, his hand facing and recognizing that of Christ is alive. This specific manner has inspired other Baroque artists such as Bernini who was fascinated with themes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
The installation of the St. Matthew paintings in the Contarelli Chapel had an immediate impact among younger artists in Rome, and Caravaggism became the cutting edge for every ambitious young painter. The first Caravaggisti included Giovanni Baglione and Orazio Gentileschi, father of Artemisia. In the next generation, there were Carlo Saraceni, Bartolomeo Manfredi, and Orazio Borgianni[11]. Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most gifted artists of this movement. It is not well-known that Artemisia’s “manifesto,” Judith Beheading Holofernes (1621), repeats the composition and colors of an earlier work by Caravaggio (1599). However, for Caravaggio it was important to portray a realistic vision of killing even when committed with great purpose; on the other hand, Artemisia stressed a theme of revenge by a woman against a man.
Caravaggio had a brief stay in Naples, which resulted in the emergence of a notable school of Neapolitan Caravaggisti. Two prominent artists from this movement were Battistello Caracciolo and Carlo Sellitto. Unfortunately, the Caravaggisti movement came to an end due to a terrible outbreak of plague in 1656. However, since Naples was under Spanish rule at that time, it played a significant role in forming the important Spanish branch of this artistic movement.
A group of Catholic artists from Utrecht, known as the Utrecht Caravaggisti, traveled to Rome during the early 17th century as students. They were deeply influenced by the work of Caravaggio. Upon returning to the North, this trend had a brief but significant impact on painters such as Hendrick ter Brugghen, Gerrit van Honthorst, Andries Both and Dirck van Baburen in the 1620s. In subsequent generations, the influence of Caravaggio can be seen in the works of Rubens, Vermeer, Rembrandt and Velazquez. It is believed that Velazquez saw Caravaggio’s work during his time in Italy.
In 1916, Roberto Longhi, an important Italian critic, wrote a research paper titled Gentileschi padre e figlia” (Gentileschi father and daughter), which highlighted the artistic merits of Artemisia Gentileschi in the sphere of the Caravaggisti during the first half of the 17th century. Longhi described Artemisia as “the only woman in Italy who ever knew about painting, coloring, doughing and other fundamentals[12].”
After creating her famous painting Judith, Artemisia presented us with a generously proportioned vixen, reminiscent of Cervantes’ Dulcinea. This character saws away at the villain’s throat, causing crimson clots of blood to stain the silken sheets. In an earlier canvas, we see the same heroine just moments after committing the dastardly deed. She proudly holds aloft her dagger while wearing a cameo emblazoned with an armed warrior. Blood oozes through the braids of a wicker basket held by her maidservant who carries the tyrant’s severed head. Artemisia’s paintings all feature breathtaking use of chiaroscuro which adds dimensions, emotions and fluidity to each composition.
Artemisia created her own version of Caravaggisti realism by combining realistic style with intellectualism, bringing out human emotion. She also used an intellectual maneuver in two of her self-portraits, where she turned her gender to her advantage. In one portrait from 1630, she wears a laurel wreath, symbolizing high intellect and achievement. In the second portrait, Artemisia is adorned with a gold necklace featuring a mask pendant – an emblem for Art when worn by a woman. Therefore, Artemisia depicted herself as the very essence of Art itself – a bold depiction that only a woman could participate in.
The most recent critic has attempted to reconstruct the entire catalogue of Gentileschi and provide a better understanding of Artemisia’s career by placing it within the context of the different artistic environments in which she actively participated. This reading restores Artemisia as an artist who fought against prejudices expressed towards women painters, using her personality and artistic qualities as weapons with determination. She was able to successfully introduce herself into the circle of respected painters during her time, embracing a series of pictorial genres that were likely more varied than her paintings suggest[13].
Conclusions.
Caravaggio and his followers, known as the Caravaggisti, were the last major original artistic movement that Italy produced after the end of the Renaissance. They lived a life similar to painters from earlier times; with no systematic education, they moved from one patron to another, driven by their fortunes. Caravaggio is often credited as a founder of Baroque painting. While this may be true, it was not only Caravaggio who brought new trends in art to Europe; his followers also traveled from region to region creating their own local movements.
No doubt, Caravaggio influenced many famous artists, including Rubens, Vermeer, and Velasquez. However, his brilliant student Artemisia Gentileschi is less known. Although she stands in the shadow of her great teacher, her personality has individual importance to art history. Her life and work demonstrated that women can be independent and individual artists who can successfully advance the art of painting just as men do.
References
Gilles Lambert’s book, Caravaggio,” was published by Taschen in London in 2000.
2. Keith Christiansen and Judith W. Mann’s book, Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi,” was published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2001.
3. Rosa Giorgi wrote a book titled Caravaggio: Master of Light and Dark – His Life in Paintings” published by Dorling Kindersley in 1999.
4. Peter Robb, Male, from London. Published by Duffy & Snellgrove in 2003.
5. Anna Banti, Shirley D’Ardia Caracciolo, Artemisia (European Women Writers), University of Nebraska Press, 1998
6. Alfred Moir’s book, The Italian Followers of Caravaggio, was published by Harvard University Press in 1967.
[1] Gilles Lambert, Caravaggio, London: Taschen, 2000, p. 8
[2] Keith Christiansen, Judith W. Mann. Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001, p. 39
[3] Gilles Lambert, supra note, p. 34
[4] Rosa Giorgi, Caravaggio: Master of light and dark – his life in paintings, Dorling Kindersley, 1999, p.
[5] Peter Robb, M, London: Duffy; Snellgrove, 2003, p. 46
[6] Anna Banti, Shirley D’Ardia Caracciolo, Artemisia (European Women Writers), University of Nebraska Press, 1998, p. 51
[7] See Keith Christiansen and Judith W. Mann in the previous note on page 69.
[8] Gilles Lambert also cited in the previous note on page 11.
[9] See Peter Robb, supra note.
[10] See Rosa Giorgi, supra note, p. 14.
[11] See: Alfred Moir, The Italian Followers of Caravaggio, Harvard University Press (1967), pages 48-50.
[12] Anna Banti and Shirley D’Ardia Caracciolo, page 9.
[13] Anna Banti and Shirley D’Ardia Caracciolo, supra note, pages 82-83.
