Gender, Legends and Art Topoi

1
Gender, Legends and Art Topoi

• Vesa Matteo Piludu

University of Helsinki Department of Art Research
2
Susanna and The Elders, Alessandro Allori
Italian Painter - Portraitist, 1535-1607 -
Mannerism
3
Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna e i vecchioni 1610
4
A different point of view!

• Her first dated and signed work is so remarkably
  mature for a seventeen-year-old that many
  attributed it to her father. However, it is the
  painting that is accepted, without dispute, as
  being the first autograph painting by Artemisia.
  Her signaure can be found in the shadow caste by
  Susanna's legs.
• The work shows anatomical accuracy and advanced
  colour and construction. Her father may have
  guided her with the design and execution of the
  painting. Her palette owes much to Michelangelo,
  a major influence on her style.
• Artemisia depicts the biblical story of Susanna,
  a virtuous young wife sexually harassed by the
  elders of her community.
• Rather than showing Susanna as coyly or
  flirtatious (as many male artists had painted the
  scene), Artemisia takes the female perspective
  and portrays Susanna as vulnerable, frightened,
  and repulsed by their demands, while the men loom
  large, leering, menacing, and conspiratorial in
  her direction.
• Artemisia completed this scene prior to her rape
  by Tassi. The drama probably reflects the sexual
  harassment by him and other artists at the time
  that she began training at his studio. The
  painting drew attention to her professional
  promise and willingness to experiment with
  psychological dynamics.