The Art of Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 – 1656) was a female Italian Baroque painter in a time when women were not accepted as artists, and most were certainly not allowed to paint unless they lived in an Abbey. Today she is considered one of the most accomplished painters in the generation of artists who came after Caravaggio and is well known for painting courageous or strong-minded women from mythology.

(Gentileschi, Artemisia. Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes. c. 1625. oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts.)

Gentileschi was born in Rome, her mother passed away when she was twelve. Her grieving father then unexpectedly took her on as his apprentice and taught her how to paint like a master. She was the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, an accomplished painter, and talented artist. He introduced her to the famous artists of Rome of the time, including the infamous Caravaggio with whom he was close friends. Caravaggio casually stopped by their home to borrow props and perhaps even encouraged her to paint.

(Gentileschi, Artemisia. Self Portrait. c. 1638. oil on canvas. Royal Collection, Windsor.)

In 1611 when Artemisia was 18 years old, Agostino Tassi an artist, who worked with her father unfortunately secluded and raped her. When her father found out, he demanded justice and filed formal charges against Tassi for the injury and damage to his daughter's honor.

(Gentileschi, Artemisia. Judith Beheading Holofernes. c. 1611-12. oil on canvas. Museo Nationale di Capodimonte, Naples.)

The trial was horrendous and lasted over seventeen months Artemisia was physically tortured publicly in the courtroom to recant her statement and test the truth of her accusations with counter-accusations from Tassi that she was not a virgin, a whore, and a talentless painter. 

Tassi was finally convicted and sentenced to prison for the rape, but only served less than one year because he had connections with the pope.

(Gentileschi, Artemisia. Judith and her Maidservant. c. 1612-1613. oil on canvas. Galleria Palatina, Florence.)

During the trial and after, Gentileschi began to design and paint the story of Judith slaying Holofernes from the Bible. Judith was already a popular subject matter of the time, but Gentileschi’s portrayal of Judith is both original and has a unique perspective.

(Gentileschi, Artemisia. Penitent Magdalene. c. 1630. oil on canvas.)

Artemisia's style is characterized by "tenebrism," from the Italian word "tenebroso" (dark or gloomy), which describes a painting style where dark colors dominate over the light ones or the extreme contrasts of light and dark areas have dramatic illumination. 

(Gentileschi, Artemisia. Yael and Sisara. c. 1620. oil on canvas. Budapest, Szepmuveszeti Museum.)

In 1614, Gentileschi became the first official female member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, which was only made possible by her most famous patron, the Grand Duke Cosimo II of the Medici family. Artemisia’s unusual liberties combined with her traumatic experience, allowed her to create some of the best chiaroscuro paintings of that time, and her work is much appreciated here!

Enjoy! :)

References 

• King, R. Art. New York: DK Publishing. 2008.
  

The Art of Sandra Perlow

Sandra Perlow (1940 - present) is a contemporary abstract artist, currently living in Chicago, who has been creating art for over forty-five years. Sandra works in multi-media creating a collage on top of monoprints or woodcuts using a combination of various mediums which include acrylic, gouache, or oil stick.

(Perlow, Sandra. Must Come Again. c. 2012. collage on canvas.)
Sandra was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois where she earned her Bachelor’s of Art Education (B.A.E.) and her Master’s of Fine Art (M.A.) from the school of the art institute of Chicago in which she mainly focused on drawing and painting. She also received an M.A. from the Illinois Institute of Design. Perlow then began to teach herself at the school of the art institute of Chicago.

(Perlow, Sandra. Apart from That. c. 2012. collage on canvas.)
Rhythm is the key property of Perlow’s multi-media paintings. She works in shapes and colors, inspired by architecture or landscape. She draws inspiration from daily life, people, and museums.

(Perlow, Sandra. Tangled. c. 2012. collage on canvas.)
“Perlow’s creative process is an energetic shuffling and sorting of memory, text, sound, and image. There is spontaneity in her studio practice as the surrounding loop sets up a syncopated tempo as she works on several canvases at one time. The cacophony of visual signs is also found in the layers of images on her studio table: a landscape of books and papers from a visual library from Chinese brush painting Rotella’s decollates or the works of Philip Guston. The creative impulse is immediate and improvisational as Perlow pulls paper, motif, and gesture onto the surface of the picture plane.” (Sandra Perlow.net, 2012).

(Perlow, Sandra. Draw Into. c. 2012. collage on canvas.)
At the age of seventy-two years old, Sandra is full of energy, has a wonderful sense of humor, and has unparalleled lust for life, which I believe is definitely reflected in her work, and her work is much appreciated here.

Enjoy :)

References

• Sandra Perlow.net

The Art of Emil Carlsen

Soren Emil Carlsen (1853 – 1932) was a Danish born American Impressionist. He embodied the “starving artist” stereotype and was unfortunately not recognized for his talent as a painter until much later on in his career. Influenced by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Carlsen was famous for painting still life subjects and eventually became known as “The American Chardin”. Carlsen also served as a well-respected art teacher in Chicago, San Francisco, and New York for over 40 years.

(Carlsen, Emil. Iron Kettle and Clams. c. 1926. oil on canvas mounted on board. Private collection.)

Carlsen was from an artistic family and his family taught him how to paint. As a young adult, he studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen for four years. After graduation, he got a job working in Chicago as an architectural draftsman but, he soon decided that he did not like the sedentary lifestyle, so he decided to become an artist. He then studied with the Danish marine artist Lauritz Holst and became the first teacher of drawing and painting at the Chicago Academy of Design.

(Carlsen, Emil. Teapot and Onion. oil on canvas. Private collection.)

Thirsty for more formal artistic training, Carlsen traveled to Paris where he first set eyes on the work of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin from the Rococo period in 1875. He then moved to New York and began to paint still life, similar to the work of Chardin but, he struggled to sell his work, so he taught classes at the Art Students League as well.

(Carlsen, Emil. The Fan. oil on canvas. Private collection.)
Carlsen was accepted into an exhibition of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1883, where he finally was recognized for his talents. He was then offered a position as the director of the San Francisco Art Association’s School, so he moved to California in 1886. In 1904, he married and moved to a quiet town in Connecticut and painted until his death.

(Carlsen, Emil. The Wooded Interior. oil on panel. Private collection.)

Carlsen’s spacious compositions are timeless, elegant and display his excellent draughtsmanship. His soft flawless brushwork combined with the luminous qualities of paint create a tranquil atmospheric effect. His painting technique was meticulous and labor-intensive as he combined the effect of glazing (building up layers of thin paint) with scraping, painting, and then scraping again to build up a final impasto as the finale.

(Carlsen, Emil. Still Life with Oriental Works of Art. c. 1901. oil on board. Private collection.)

Carlsen was at first only recognized for his still life paintings but, later on, he was eventually recognized for his landscape and his marine paintings as well. There are very few books written about Carlsen, he is the unsung master whose paintings are now today scattered into the hands of many private collectors but, his work is very much appreciated here!

Enjoy! :)

References 

• emilcarlsen.com