Artemisia Poems

Judith Beheading Holofernes By Artemisia Gentileschi

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,

Artemisia Exposed

conception
   of
      femininity
exposed

the courageous
      determined
         energetic
in exuberant  voluptuousness

with intent
of lips&
          strongwilled chin
evocative
of
disconcerting 
         freedom
yet
  an object

Artemisia a Rare Talent

In baroque pathos
   dramatic effects
bright lively
   &emotional 
brown ochrered
blue & 
   shadowed orange 

precise folds 
   of feminine
     conception
idealised&delicate 
filled 
 with self perception

Clerihew Artemisia Glass Ceiling Breaker

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

Artemisia, Part 12 of 12

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

Artemisia, Part 11 of 12

(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

Artemisia, Part 10 of 12

(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

Artemisia, Part 9 of 12

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

Artemisia, Part 7 of 12

(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,

Artemisia, Part 6 of 12

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

Artemisia, Part 5 of 12

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

Artemisia, Part 4 of 12

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

Artemisia, Part 3 of 12

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

Artemisia, Part 2 of 12

(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

Artemisia, Part 1 of 12

(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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