Lecture: Artemisia Gentileschi April 17, 2010

Considered one of the greatest female artists in history, Artemisia Gentileschi painted for the kings and queens of Europe. However, the art community was mostly male-dominated and when she accuses a fellow artist of rape, her reputation is destroyed. She continued to produce art, but fell into obscurity. Today, her artwork has gained scholarly attention in the form of books, documentaries, and feature films.

An introduction by Jacquie Germanow will take place at 2:00 p.m. followed by a lecture and panel discussion from Elena Ciletti. Germanow is an award-winning artist whose works parallel Artemisia’s in her quest to understand the mystery of the life force and magnetism of the human psyche. Ciletti is a professor of art history at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an avid researcher and author of multiple publications on Judith, a Biblical figure who is creditied as having saved Israel from the Assyrians. Her talk will explore multiple themes surrounding the story of Judith and Gentileschi’s artwork depicting them.