Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Date of Submission

2024-09-04

Advisor

Nageen Jawaid Shaikh, Visiting Faculty, Department of Social Sciences

Committee

Hajrah Rahman, Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Artemisia Gentileschi, Baroque art, Female characters, Womanhood, Female strength, Female agency

Abstract

This thesis explores the work of the 17th-century Italian Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, focusing on how the painter depicted her female characters with strength and agency. Male artists have garnered widespread recognition for their craft, while female artists have not received the same attention. Nevertheless, painters like Gentileschi have utilized their knowledge of the female experience and presented their characters in a new light. This thesis focuses on five paintings by Gentileschi: Judith Slaying Holofernes (Naples and Florence versions), Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, La Pittura, and Corisca and the Satyr, and analyzes the themes of agency, strength, and womanhood displayed in them. Utilizing formal, iconographic and iconological analysis methods, as well as conducting a comparative study with the work of her contemporaries, this thesis aims to emphasize how Gentileschi's approach to art allowed her female characters depth and nuance. Lastly, this thesis looks at literature by art historians and critics to understand various perspectives pertaining to Gentileschi's art and to understand how aspects of Gentileschi's life impacted her art.

Pages

70

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