Sarah Khalil
November 04,
2015
Professor
Bomboy
Humanities 101
Feminism within Art
Throughout the years different
viewpoints and movements have been expressed through art. To some, art is
merely an aesthetic. While to others, it is a way to express ones emotions,
beliefs and even experiences. Similarly to storytelling, art is just the same.
Art is a way to narrate a story through details, elements of art, and
principles of design. One artist who has expressed feminism vividly through her
artworks is Artemisia Gentileschi. “Judith Slaying Holofernes” is one of her
famous artworks that was completed between 1614-1620 (Fiero 48). “Judith
Slaying Holofernes” is a narrative painting that not only reveals her
viewpoints of society, but more importantly her viewpoints of feminism. In
fact, this famous artwork is known to be linked to a real-life experience that
Gentileschi had experienced.
Like any artwork, “Judith Slaying
Holofernes” has many elements of art and principles of designs incorporated
into it. “Judith Slaying Holofernes” is an oil on canvas type of painting that
shows two women, one resembles to be Judith and the other resembles to be a
maid. There’s also a man who seems to be Holofernes in the painting on a bed
outstretched with Judith standing above him and striking his neck with his own
sword. The maid is aiding Judith to hold down Holofernes while Judith is
portrayed as barely using any strength and still managing to cut off
Holofernes’s head. This painting is famous mainly because it is a biblical
story and is expressed through a feminist viewpoint (Fiero 48). It is seen to
be expressed in a feminist viewpoint because Judith and the maid are both shown
with their sleeves rolled up and working in unison to resemble that women who
work together are focused and strong women. This shows the viewer that
Gentileschi thinks of women as strong, independent and powerful. Whereas,
painter Caravaggio’s “Judith Slaying Holofernes” painting resembles a very
small and petite woman with a surprised expression on her face while slaying
Holofernes with an old lady behind her that seems to be the maid assisting her.
Caravaggio’s painting also shows creases on Judith’s wrist implying that
physical strength is required for her to cut off Holofernes head. This shows
the viewer that Caravaggio thinks of women as tiny, feminine, and possibly even
weak.
The use of lines in this painting is phenomenal because it shows
every little detail ranging from the bedsheets and clothing to the blood
escaping Holofernes neck. All of which resemble the painting to seem more
vivid. Since Gentileschi is a woman, her paintings resemble realistic shapes of
a woman figure as opposed to male painters who paint unrealistic or idealistic
women figures. Not only that but the painting itself has many organic/natural
shapes incorporated into it. All of which make the painting seem more realistic
and 3-D. Another thing that makes the painting appear as natural looking is the
color scheme. Many of the colors used are natural-like colors, such as red,
white, brown, black, etc. The overall texture of the painting is very realistic
to the point where it seems as if the painting is an actual photograph. The
texture of the clothes resemble the wrinkles, the blood from Holofernes neck
isn’t dramatic but is seemingly more realistic looking, and the bedsheets and
mattress have similar textures as one would see in real life. The use of value
is incorporated evenly in this painting, because Gentileschi uses shadows in
the correct places to make the painting seem more 3-D. Such as the complete
black background behind Judith and the maid to resemble that Judith is killing
Holofernes during the nighttime. When it comes to space, the painting seems
almost crowded but not too crowded for anyone to miss any details. Gentileschi
does this to make it seem as if the viewers are in the painting with Judith in
the tent. The obvious form of the painting is to give the illusion that it is
3-D and more than just a painting. It seems as if Gentileschi wants the viewer
to experience what Holofernes is going through and by doing so she gives the
painting realistic forms and qualities.
The elements of art and principles of design go hand in hand in any
artwork because the principles of design are merely to rearrange the elements
of art. In this painting, contrast is found in the organic shapes as on the
characters in the painting. For example, there is a contrast between dark
colors and the characters in the painting such as the pitch black background
and the light being focused more on the characters. Gentileschi does this
because she wants the viewers to focus on the characters, which is why the
detail itself isn’t very detailed but instead simple yet informative. This is
also seen with proportion, since proportion can resemble how much color one
thing holds as opposed to something else. The only things that hold color in
the painting are the characters clothing, the characters, and the bed
containing Holofernes. The whole emphasis on this painting is Holofernes head.
This is because Judith’s goal is primarily to kill Holofernes and to cut off
his head. This act resembles power and being in control. This whole painting
from Gentileschi’s point of view is to resemble that women are always in power
and should never be underestimated. Since rhythm is defined as ones eye
bouncing from “like” object to “like” object, in this painting Gentileschi
wants the viewer to look at Holofernes (since he is the focal point), then to
Judith and then to the maid. There isn’t much repetition going on in the
painting other than the repetition of natural colors and organic shapes being
used continuously, which ultimately leads to unity. Everything in this painting
resembles unity because everything matches and everything is well put together
in a delicate and simple way. There is unity in the way colors and lines are
used to bring this painting all together. Gentileschi’s use of elements and
principles come together in unity to bring the painting to life. Every little
element and principles were used strategically to pull the viewer into the
painting. Gentileschi doesn’t want a viewer to look away from this painting
until they have understood every little aspect of it and she does this by
pulling the viewer into the painting. The lines, shapes, colors, and textures
in the painting create a serious mood. Whereas, the value, space and form
display control and power. On the other hand, the principles of design are what
truly give the illusion that this painting is a carbon copy of a “photograph”.
Although “Judith Slaying Holofernes” is a biblical story,
Gentileschi also incorporated her own meaning into her painting of “Judith
Slaying Holofernes”. During the 1600’s and many other eras, women were
constantly viewed as people who were merely created to cook, clean, serve and
give birth. Due to this corrupted viewpoint it allowed many men to take
advantage of women and get away with it. Unfortunately, Gentileschi was one
woman who was taken advantage of by her art teacher Agostino Tassi. Tassi was a
convicted rapist who had previously served time for raping his previous wife
and his sister-in-law. In 1612, a trial was held of Tassi being charged and
convicted of raping Gentileschi. During the 16th century, when a
woman accused a man of raping her, she was put under torture in order to force
the woman to lie and say that she wasn’t raped and to prove that women are
merely delusional. During the trial, Gentileschi was tortured with thumbscrews
and other methods of torture to “prove” that she wasn’t lying (Garrard and
Steinem). However, through the course of this torture, whenever she was asked
if she was raped, Gentileschi never gave up and continued to state that she was
in fact raped by Tassi (Garrard and Steinem).
The biblical story behind “Judith Slaying Holofernes” tells a story
of the assassination of the Assyrian general Holofernes committed by the
Israeli, Judith. Judith assassinated Holofernes because Holofernes was trying
to take advantage of her and waiting for an opportunity to seduce her (Fiero
48). The interpretation of “Judith Slaying Holofernes” by Gentileschi is to
show that women are just as powerful and have the ability to triumph over
powerful men. Gentileschi drew herself as Judith and drew her rapist, Agostino
Tassi, as Holofernes. Overall, I believe that Gentileschi has accomplished the
idea of being a feminist figure to other women by encouraging other women to
speak up and to defend themselves no matter what the situation may be.
Gentileschi did this by never giving up during her rape trial, no matter how
much torture she had gone through. I believe the aim Gentileschi was going for
was simply a cathartic expression of her traumatic experience(s). Not only was
she a rape victim, but she had to prove to the court that Tassi was her abuser.
One can only imagine how much anger, rage and disappointment that Gentileschi
was feeling at the time when she had no one on her side. As I stated earlier,
art is a way of expressing ones emotions and Gentileschi used art to her
advantage to express her emotions since she could barely write at the time
(Garrard and Steinem). The key that motivated Gentileschi to paint “Judith
Slaying Holofernes” was merely her traumatic rape trial/experience. It is often
seen that people who experience life-changing calamities are the ones that
express their pain through art, writing, and poetry all in a tragic yet
exquisite manner. For example, Vincent Van Gogh suffered with depression and
committed suicide but left the world with many aesthetically pleasing paintings
behind.
From my perspective, I truly believe that Gentileschi communicated
the idea she was trying for; which is, feminism. When I first saw this
painting, I had no background knowledge of Gentileschi but I still knew that
the meaning behind “Judith Slaying Holofernes” is that women are powerful,
independent and don’t need to rely on men. From my viewpoint, this painting
empowers women and reminds society that not all women are designed to be
“lady-like” or “feminine”. This painting also shows that women are equal to men
and just as capable to doing anything a man can do. This painting makes me feel
confident and powerful and it gives me a sense of “You can do anything if you put
your mind and strength to it”. Before I saw Gentileschi’s painting of “Judith
Slaying Holofernes” I never thought of myself as a feminist. Mainly because
I’ve seen many extreme feminists and it discouraged me to support feminism. But
after looking into Gentileschi’s life, I realized that feminism only means one
thing, and that is equality. From a feminist viewpoint, Gentileschi only wanted
to be treated with respect and equality. It is obvious that through her
painting(s), Gentileschi treats/views women as queens with control and power. I
believe that Gentileschi was a forward-thinking artist and because of this she
believed that one day women would receive the rights they deserve. During the
1600, women were constantly being underestimated and viewed as incompetent and
weak. Although, from a Marxist viewpoint, Gentileschi portrays power in women.
For example, advertisements display subtle hints or messages that the
subconscious mind picks up and processes later on unintentionally. Nowadays,
the “ideal” woman is portrayed to be Kim Kardashian and because of this many
women try to imitate her looks; some even imitate her looks without even
realizing it. The same thing goes towards Gentileschi’s painting of “Judith
Slaying Holofernes” because Gentileschi is trying to send the message that
women are just as powerful. By doing this it could even cause some men to
become intimidated by the painting or even by certain women. Overall,
Gentileschi’s painting of “Judith Slaying Holofernes” has a deeper meaning and
holds a feminist viewpoint that many overlook. Although, Artemisia Gentileschi
is no longer around, her paintings still prosper.
“Judith Slaying Holofernes” by Artemisia Gentileschi. 1614-1620.
Oil on canvas.
“Judith
Beheading Holofernes” by Caravaggio. 1598-1599. Oil on canvas.
Works Cited
Camara,
Esperança. "Khan Academy." Khan Academy. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. 05
Nov.
2015.
Fiero, Gloria K. The
Humanistic Tradition. 7th ed. Vol 2. New York: McGraw-Hill,
2015. Print.
Garrard, Mary, and Gloria Steinem. "ON
ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI." ON ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI.
Members.efn, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015
