Historical study essay

In the postmodern era many artists were significant but mainly all men, women being excluded out of all history books, however an artist by the name of Artemisia Gentileschi was known as a great artist but the art history books refused to add her into their books. She challenged art and it was definitely expressed through her paintings, Gentileschi is recognized as one of the greatest female painters of the Baroque period. Even though she was ruled out of the books she sure had a big impact in the art world for females at the time. In her works of art women were portrayed as strong and powerful as shown in her Judith slaying holofernes, the women are taking control not the man and it’s such a strong symbol that she is representing to her audience. In that era men were the ones in charge and had control or power over everything and Gentileschi tried to change the rules of art and portray women not just in a seductive way but in a more respectful, strong and powerful role.
Although she was a great artist women painters were not easily accepted by the artistic community, due to the fact women were not of importance in the art realm men were in control and women did not. So even though she was extremely talented it wasn’t enough to get her into the history books till the 1970s after she died, scholars actually credited some of Artemisia’s work to her father and to other male painters, until feminist artists in the 1970s and ’80s rediscovered her work. In her time she would have not been able to compete with male artists because she was a female and was not taken seriously, she was better than some of the male artists in her time some might say.
Growing up wanting to be female artist her father had her back 100% of the way and him being artist himself trained his daughter to her best. Not only did her father train her but she had a few art teachers that trained her as well although this was great for her it had a downfall one f her teachers had raped her and her farther sued him and Gentileschi trial was in front of an open court where she was in agony with nails in her fingers forced to deny that she was raped but she refused and all things that had happened to her was reflected her works of arts, one major example of her disgust to males was there “Judith slaying holofernes” artwork which showed to women over a man on a bed trying to kill him and this reflected back to her rape, as if she was to do the same thing to the man that had did it to her. The strength and determination of Judith evident in this work reveal to Gentileschi’s individual interpretation. She represents women as very strong and dominant in the painting and it’s almost very disturbing to see but at the same time she is symbolising that women can have just as much control over men as they can have over us.
In Gentileschi’s artwork Esther before ahasurerus, in this artwork the main focus is the women the way she is so elegantly dresses and her body position is almost as if she is about to faint and the man(her husband) is about to get up to assist her and his facial expressions. The artwork again symbolising the women as a strong character even by the harmonious colours of her dress seem rich and prevailing, and all eyes are her and the dark space between the king and her (the queen) showing distance between the two. Straight away we notice that the man is in the big chair showing who is in charge once again, sexism is introduced showing that the man is in charge and the women is just there to support him, but she