Secrets on canvas (Part I)

There is so much more to painting than just shapes on canvas hanged on the wall; it is a way of communication through which painters can express their frame of mind, thoughts and believes to the audience. In addition to that, I might as well add that painting, in my humble opinion, is a form of visual literature: each painting is narrating a story. Hence, there is not much of a difference between a painter and a novelist; both of them are artists, employing their talents to create a vivid, detailed image of the story they are depicting. What really varies are the tools they use: while a painter uses brushes and oils, it is words and letters for a novelist.

Furthermore, painting was also of great importance to document historical events, especially before cameras were invented. The French painter Jacques-Louis David, for instance, was appointed as an "artistic director of the French revolution", and was given the task of depicting episodes and figures from both the French revolution and Napoleonic era. Of course, the integrity of some paintings of this kind is to be questioned, and should be taken with a grain of salt, as they may reflect the painter's account of the events instead of the real version. But I refrain from taking this discussion further, as this topic is beyond the scope of this article.

Other works of art, however, are shrouded to the core in mystery. Despite them depicting an explicit topic at the first glance, several paintings have secrets, or let us say untold messages which are not so easy to unveil. A previous article of mine can be an illustration to that, where I wrote about a painting predicting the rise of Adolf Hitler before he was even born. You can find more about it here.

As for today's read, we will turn the spotlight to a few more paintings as such, in an attempt to unravel the real stories concealed underneath the layers of oils on the canvas.

I/ "Judith slaying Holofernes" by Artemisia Gentileschi:

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656) was a female baroque artist from Rome in nowadays Italy. And I'm specifying her gender because in the seventeenth century, an era when woman had very low chances to peruse a professional artistic career, Artemisia managed to become one of the most accomplished painters at the time. She was also the first woman to ever obtain the membership of the "Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze", the prestigious academy of fine arts of Florence.

Born to Orazio Gentileschi, a painter himself, Artemisia showed a remarkable artistic talent from an early age and it was polished by her father. By the age of 17, she was far ahead of her peers, already finishing her earliest surviving professional work: "Susanna and the Elders".

Artemisia, same as her dad Orazio, adopted Caravaggio's style for several of her works, and " Judith slaying Holofernes" is one good example of that. It is not hard to notice the skilled, dramatic use of light and shadow alongside with the realistic depiction of both physical and emotional states of the observed characters.

The painting portrays the biblical story of Judith, a Jewish widow of great charm and fortune, who used her beauty to lure than decapitate Holofernes, the general sent by the Assyrian King Nebuchadnezzar to oppress Judith's city of Bethulia. For baroque artists in particular, portraying the gory decapitation scene with graphic details was not unusual. To name but a few, Michelangelo da Caravaggio, Giovanni Baglione and Carlo Saraceni painted the same scene even before Artemisia did. So the topic of the painting is not what makes it special. It is, however, the facial features of both Holofernes and Judith which should be in the limelight.

Self-portraits were not unusual for Gentileschi, and it is commonly believed that she portrayed herself as Judith in this masterpiece. Furthermore, the slain Holofernes bears a striking resemblance to another contemporary Italian painter: Agostino Tassi. This hatred is a bit too much for the "competitive spirit", isn't it?

In a matter of fact, Agostino was Orazio's colleague. In 1611, they were both working on decorating one of Rome's palaces. Therefore, Tassi frequently visited the Gentileschi's household, and once he was alone with the 17-years-old Artemisia, he raped her. For the young artist, this was merely the beginning of months-long misery.

Tassi refused to marry his victim, which, according to the contemporary standards, would spare Artemisia the shame of being "unchaste" and would"restore her dignity". Orazio, her father, had no choice but to sue the rapist who took his only daughter's virginity. Little did he know that instead of doing her justice, the trial would grind the teenager down.

Over the course of the next seven months, and as a part of her testimony, Artemisia had to go through "the polygraph" of her time, which means she was subjected to torture in order to prove she was speaking the truth. This "lie detector" was essentially vice-like metal rings called thumbscrews, which were tightened as the young woman spoke to verify her testimony. Regardless of the agonizing pain this procedure caused, it also could have imperiled her blossoming painting career as well. On the other hand, Agostino, her assailant, was not required to undergo the same experience.

At the end of the trial, Tassi was found guilty and was convicted not only of the rape, but of planning to kill his wife, committing adultery with his sister-in-law and stealing some of Orazio's paintings as well. The court sentenced Agostino to exile from Rome. However, and much to Artemisia's dismay, the verdict was never carried out, and her rapist remained as free as air.

The sexual assault and the kangaroo court left their deep scars on Artemisia, which can be determined from almost every painting of hers. The biggest majority of her works depicts women as protagonist who were rebellious, shameless and powerful instead of the feminine traits of timidness, weakness and sensitivity. It is clear that Gentileschi did neither forget nor forgive Tassi for dishonoring her. In her testimony, the young baroque artist recounted the altercation and how, after he finished raping her, she pulled a knife on Agostino threatening to kill him. Although she did not went on with her threat, Artemisia decided to perpetuate her revenge with the masterpiece she painted. This is quite an artistic revenge.

With this being said, we come to an end to the first part of this article. In the upcoming read, we will discuss the secrets hidden in the works of one of the masters and the most famous painters of history: Leonardo da Vinci.