Artemisia Poems - Poems about Artemisia

In the shadow of the night, a woman stands, Her eyes, as chilly as the winter's winds, Her hand raised high, a sword in her hand, Her face, a mask of pure malice. She towers over a man, his body on a bed, A red river flowing out of his neck, He struggles in desperation, trying to save himself, A killing slice,...

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conception of femininity exposed the courageous determined energetic in exuberant voluptuousness with intent of lips& strongwilled chin evocative of disconcerting freedom yet an object ...

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In baroque pathos dramatic effects bright lively &emotional brown ochrered blue & shadowed orange precise folds of feminine conception idealised&delicate filled with self perception...

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A woman in a man's world was Artemiia Gentileschi broke the glass ceiling to be free She much to her famous pa did owe but in her day ploughed her own furrow https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi...

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A Daniel, Come to Judgment! Before I give my judgment in this case, my custom is to have the plaintiff read aloud, before the other party, face to face the statute law that’s pertinent. The screed, Miss Gentileschi, starts off half-way down the right-hand page. So, now. Big voice. Proceed. Miss Gentileschi? Why the worried frown? The only...

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(Pierantonio Stiattesi really existed. He was somehow on the periphery of the Gentileschi social circle. Tassi really did send him a sonnet entitled, “Change, change, Stiattesi!” Some years after the trial, Stiattesi married Artemisia … so in his eyes, at least, she was not “damaged goods”.) Pierantonio Stiattesi I am a painter and from Tuscany, a good friend of the...

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(After the rape, and for the rest of her life, Artemisia turned out canvas after canvas containing disturbing images of women beheading men - with obvious phallic castration undertones.) Judith and Holofernes There’s only one way to be free of them. The only good aggressor’s good and dead. But should my righteous blade head for the stem, or does the jeopardy stem from the...

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Artemide Cacciatrice (2) The carriage trip – who’d like the factual version? That whole idea was Tuzia’s, never mine. “Let’s take a carriage for a day excursion, and have a picnic on the Aventine – we’ll see the Seven Churches!” But perversion lay in wait. What Tuzia had in mind was getting me away from hearth and home, so I’d be...

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(One of Artemisia's paintings deals with this story, found only in the Catholic and Orthodox bibles. Susannah is sexually bullied by two old men, but the young Daniel passes by and condemns the culprits.) Susannah and the Elders Legs bare, she padded to the river’s edge to bathe her body. Slipping off her slip, and setting free her hair,...

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Agostino Tassi (The Accused now gives evidence, coming fresh from the vigil torture, which involves sleep deprivation. His arrogant, careless manner doesn't win him any friends.) I think the Court will understand if I’m a little under par. The vigil thing! I hadn’t planned to come before you bug-eyed, and I find it all a bit bizarre. Defence? There’s nothing to defend. Look, they want...

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Judge Daniele Saggio This year of our salvation, sixteen twelve. Now. Gentileschi? Don Orazio? This suit is yours. You’d press it? Drop it? Shelve it? Very good. And you are Tazzio? Beg pardon, Tassi. No, you’re new to me. But you, sir, famed through Alba, Lazio and far beyond. You’ve witnesses? Let’s see. The...

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Robert browning and Me (2) Where was I with that book on Artemisia? No Internet or Amazon back then, So I got busy trudging round – then busier. No joy. “American? We’ll call you when …” “Import it from the States, you say? (sigh) “Sorry …” That book to me was life-blood. From dry fact, I knew I...

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Robert Browning and Me (1) Imagine me in nineteen ninety-two, in need of something to ignite the flame: the London Independent – a review! The painter Gentileschi – striking name! (American professor’s brand-new book, describing how the Roman girl was raped, and how this trauma subsequently shaped her art) – I didn’t need a second look! Now, Robert Browning. Never was a man more...

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(It was 1860 when the English poet Robert Browning stumbled upon an interesting artefact as he walked through the city of Florence. It was a file of documents from an old Italian criminal trial, and he would turn this material into his masterpiece, "The Ring and the Book".) The Old Square Yellow Book It was the kind of day they...

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(A true story. In the year 1612, a young artist named Artemisia Gentileschi, native of Rome, was raped by one of her father's artist colleagues. This is the tale of the subsequent criminal trial and its impact on Artemisia's art.) Prefatory Sonnet My tale is of a rape. As plain as that. In sixteen twelve or so, these things...

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