0:00:02 > 0:00:05I'm in a city which, in its heyday, was the most active
0:00:05 > 0:00:08cultural and commercial centre in the Mediterranean.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13And one of the most volatile.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15LOUD PROTEST
0:00:15 > 0:00:19During the 17th century, before the unification of Italy,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Naples was part of the Spanish empire.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24It was three times the size of Rome
0:00:24 > 0:00:27with a population that had tripled over the century
0:00:27 > 0:00:30due to an influx of immigrants looking for work.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36One of these immigrants was an extraordinary painter who came here,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40like many others, to chase lucrative commissions.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45This is the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Originally built as a hunting lodge for the Spanish nobility,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52it now houses one of the finest art collections in Italy.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59'Nestling among these official masterpieces
0:00:59 > 0:01:04'is a breathtaking painting not even mentioned in the museum's highlights,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06'even though it was created by someone quite exceptional
0:01:06 > 0:01:08'in the history of art.'
0:01:09 > 0:01:12This is one of the most arresting paintings I've ever seen.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16It's a moment of traumatic violence captured with almost forensic
0:01:16 > 0:01:19intensity in the detail here.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23What is happening is that a woman is cutting a man's head off,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26and she's putting an enormous amount of effort into it,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29and yet she's doing it with a certain amount of disdain,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31as though she's just getting on with a job she has to do.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35What is really frightening about it, and it's appallingly strong,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38is that the man is still just alive.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43Despite the fact the sword is stuck into his neck, his arm has
0:01:43 > 0:01:47shot up there, the fist is being held by the accomplice of the woman.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48You can see his mouth,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51which is almost just crying out his last breath.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56But she is quietly and efficiently doing the business.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59What's so extraordinary about this huge and violent painting
0:01:59 > 0:02:01is that it was painted by a woman.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Her name was Artemisia Gentileschi.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17A brilliant and mercurial painter.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20A charismatic trickster.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23A gifted businesswoman.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26A caring mother with a turbulent love life.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30And a modern woman in a patriarchal world.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36She's been sidelined for centuries.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Now she's emerging from the shadows
0:02:38 > 0:02:41as one of the most exciting Baroque artists.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Despite much of her work being lost or missing,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and many details of her extraordinary story forgotten,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53there remain new and surprising discoveries to be made.
0:03:05 > 0:03:1016th-century Rome, where Artemisia was born over 400 years ago,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13was dominated by the Vatican,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16using art and architecture to dazzle its citizens
0:03:16 > 0:03:18with the power of the Catholic Church.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The daughter of Orazio Gentileschi,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28one of Rome's many struggling painters, Artemisia lived with
0:03:28 > 0:03:32her family in the notorious artists' quarter of the city.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Would this have been teeming with people in Artemisia's day?
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Absolutely, absolutely.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Even more so because this was the northern door to Rome,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47because that was the place to be at the time.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49- There was such a demand, yes.- Yes.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53'French novelist Alexandra Lapierre fell under Artemisia's spell
0:03:53 > 0:03:56'when she came to Rome on a research trip.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00'What she unearthed so intrigued her, she moved here to find out more.'
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Another fine church, and there are the Caravaggios in there.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- Yes, it's right there.- Yeah.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11'Entries in the records of this church, Santa Maria del Popolo,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14'suggest it was the local place of worship for Orazio Gentileschi
0:04:14 > 0:04:16'and his wife, Prudentia.'
0:04:18 > 0:04:22What was the significance of this church in Artemisia's life?
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Oh, it has a very big significance
0:04:25 > 0:04:28because it is where her mother was buried
0:04:28 > 0:04:30when she was 12.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- How did her mother die?- Childbirth.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Many women died in childbirth in the 17th century.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40And Orazio, who loved his wife dearly,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43had ordered a true big service.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49He had made sure that his wife, Prudentia, could get the best of it.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54So he ordered the burial to be by the chapel
0:04:54 > 0:04:59that was the most visible at the time, which was the Cerasi Chapel.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08There would be singing, there would be candles.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Candles were very precious.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14In the floor here you will see rosace which have holes
0:05:14 > 0:05:18and you would have poles that would open the whole floor,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23the marble floor of the church and you would bring down the corpse.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29'Prudentia's sudden death would change Artemisia's life for ever.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34'At the age of 12, she became surrogate mother to her
0:05:34 > 0:05:38'three younger brothers as well as assisting her father in his studio.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46'Orazio Gentileschi was a friend and follower of Caravaggio whose
0:05:46 > 0:05:50'formidable paintings loomed over his beloved wife's resting place.'
0:05:52 > 0:05:55The Caravaggios which she would have seen,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- probably even during the funeral, but every time she came here.- Yes.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00I mean, they must have had quite an effect on her,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- do you think, as an artist?- Oh, yes. They are very strong.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Caravaggio's revolution has changed the whole of Orazio's vision.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Caravaggio is painting people from the street...
0:06:11 > 0:06:15- And that's a complete change, really. - Complete change.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19The idea is that the people looking at it, at the painting,
0:06:19 > 0:06:24can recognise themselves in the drama which is being played...
0:06:24 > 0:06:29- That's the powerful thing. - Humanity is holding the whole frame.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32It must have been absolutely... I can imagine for a young girl
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- or young child looking up at that and thinking, wow!- Absolutely.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38But as a result it has changed the whole vision
0:06:38 > 0:06:40of the art world at the time.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44That was really a lot for her to absorb.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48And to find a way, because without a woman to direct her, without
0:06:48 > 0:06:53a mother to direct her, she's the only woman among a man's world.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Let's go and have a closer look, shall we?
0:06:56 > 0:07:01'Caravaggio and his followers drew on Rome's dark underbelly
0:07:01 > 0:07:04'to inspire their cutting-edge style.'
0:07:05 > 0:07:10By night, the city transformed itself into a den of vice and crime
0:07:10 > 0:07:15which thrived in backstreet taverns and behind closed palazzo doors.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19- This... - PEOPLE GASP
0:07:19 > 0:07:22..was the residence of Beatrice Cenci.
0:07:22 > 0:07:28Inside this house, her wicked, and horrible and terrible father,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Francesco, abused her.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37So the legend goes, nobody listened to her pleas
0:07:37 > 0:07:39when she was asking for help.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43But, please, follow me and don't be afraid.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47You're going to be safe with me! I hope...
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Please, come with me.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53'Artemisia grew up in a patriarchal culture where women
0:07:53 > 0:07:55'were the property of men.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58'Seen as either virtuous or sinful,
0:07:58 > 0:08:03'loss of virginity outside marriage could mean joining the swelling ranks
0:08:03 > 0:08:07'of prostitutes who haunted Rome's dark alleyways.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10'Along with the restless ghosts of its violent past.'
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Who was the wicked girl who had killed her father?
0:08:16 > 0:08:21All the people of Rome went in the streets in this area
0:08:21 > 0:08:25ready to go to the river where her head would be...
0:08:27 > 0:08:28..chopped off!
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Terrific! Thought that would happen. I thought that would happen.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- Please follow me to the river to see the place.- Ha-ha-ha!
0:08:37 > 0:08:42One of these ghosts is that of poor Beatrice Cenci,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46whose execution the young Artemisia almost certainly witnessed.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Public decapitations, brutal and bloody,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54would have been part of daily life in Seicento Rome.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Her head was cut off with a sword.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05And all the blood went into the Tiber,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08dyeing it the colour red.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10DRUMBEATS
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Artemisia's father, Orazio,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31all too well aware of the dangers for his only daughter,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34confined her to his studio, where she began to produce work of her own.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Artemisia used the time to develop her talent,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45but always under her father's guiding hand.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54Some of their work is on display here at the Spada Gallery in Rome.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Here they are, side by side, the two Gentileschis -
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Orazio the father, Artemisia the daughter.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It's just interesting to compare and contrast the two.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09This a painting I love, it's a beautiful delicate painting.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11This is by Artemisia, Madonna and Child,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and she was a teenager when she painted this.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Yet there's something about the delicacy with which the baby's hand,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21which is beautifully drawn, just touches the throat,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23extraordinary gentle gesture,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26and the eyes looking at the closed eyes of the Madonna.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30On the other side, a more classical picture by Orazio.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32It's David and Goliath.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34And it feels like a much bigger picture,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36the figure's very strong in frame.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40You can see similarities, the flesh tones, the angle of the body,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43you can see a strength in that painting and perhaps a delicacy,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46but also a substance in this one here.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49What you can also see, actually, is to be able to paint
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and model drapery like that, it's very, very impressive indeed.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Her father, a much more well-known painter at the time, a male,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00painting in the classical idiom.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04You can see down in the corner there the head of Goliath
0:11:04 > 0:11:07being zonked by the stone from the catapult.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10It's almost a sort of Gentileschi trademark,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13the head somewhere in the painting.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16But altogether a big, strong picture, and this picture,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18strong because of its delicacy.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Both Artemisia's Madonna and this other striking painting of hers
0:11:29 > 0:11:31in the collection have, until recently,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35been wrongly attributed to male artists, or to her father.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48The paintings of Artemisia's I've seen today have been a revelation.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Of course, the fact that such accomplished work could be created
0:11:51 > 0:11:55by someone so young has inevitably raised a few questions.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Her father was a painter. What was his work? What was her work?
0:11:59 > 0:12:00Where's the real Artemisia?
0:12:03 > 0:12:06It's like this wonderful piece of visual trickery
0:12:06 > 0:12:08by Baroque architect Francesco Borromini.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13This arcade is actually only eight metres long.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18The statue is only 70cm high.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23It was indeed a world of riddles and illusions.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33The Susanna is her first really known work.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36It's signed with her name, Artemisia Gentileschi, 1610.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Lots of scholars have argued
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Orazio really painted it, he just put his daughter's name on it
0:12:42 > 0:12:45to launch her career. And I don't think that's really true.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50I think he may have helped her with the finishing of the picture,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54the passages here and there, because his style is very difficult
0:12:54 > 0:12:56to distinguish from hers at that point.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59But the concept of that Susanna is radically new.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Most of the Susannas of that period, all of them
0:13:02 > 0:13:06that I know by male artists, were almost betrayals of the story.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Susanna in the garden is bathing and these elders thunder in
0:13:10 > 0:13:13and they're going to rape her, have their way with her.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17In most of the pictures you see, she's looking seductively at them.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20"Oh, you're coming to rape me? OK, fine."
0:13:20 > 0:13:23But this is the first one where she's saying, no. No.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Her face is rather horrified and shocked.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28This is the first time anybody ever painted
0:13:28 > 0:13:31that subject from Susanna's point of view.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35We never saw what women felt like in that situation in art before.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39For me, that's a radical step in art history.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It was also a case of art imitating life.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Like Susanna, Artemisia was being watched.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58One man with his eye on her was Agostino Tassi, a widower in his 30s.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01He was a highly sought-after painter specialising in
0:14:01 > 0:14:04trompe-l'oeil illusion, which was all the rage at the time.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11This dusty track in the built-up centre of Rome was once
0:14:11 > 0:14:13a shaded walkway through the ancient gardens of Sallust,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16fabled for their beauty and tranquillity.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20For the last 400 years, it's been the site of the Villa Aurora.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Caravaggio, Henry James, Woody Allen and Madonna
0:14:23 > 0:14:28all came to the villa, in part to see the work of Agostino Tassi.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38- Ah!- Greetings.- Principessa. - How are you?- How nice to meet you.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41What a thrill to meet you. Please call me Rita.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Rita, I'm interested in this man, Agostino Tassi.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47- You've got some of his work here. - We do.- Can you show them to me?
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Because I'm really anxious to know what this man was like.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Which is Tassi's work here then? The ceiling?
0:14:53 > 0:14:57On the ceiling, this is considered Guercino's masterpiece.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00They mythical goddess Aurora bringing dawn into the night.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- The prince of Troy is behind her. - The central part.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06That is a secco, painted on dry paint.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Now the frame, which is really a spectacular part
0:15:09 > 0:15:12of the painting as well, is by Agostino Tassi.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14And he really was an illusionist.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17As you can see, his part, the frame has movement. It actually moves -
0:15:17 > 0:15:21as you move across the room, the columns move with you
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and they straighten and then they curve in.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Is it supposed to be a continuation of the house, the walls of the house?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Of course it is. It is a continuation of the house.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31And also there's something very interesting here.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- You see how you see the breakthrough in the ceiling?- Oh, yes.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36This caused a hue and an outcry in Rome
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- and they wanted this painted over.- Why?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41The first time people were walking into the room and they were
0:15:41 > 0:15:44hanging onto the sides of the walls, and they said, we feel threatened,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46the sky feels like it's coming down on us.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It lifts you up, and also it is slightly scary.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51It does, it is a little scary even today.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56- We have a fresco upstairs, La Fama. - OK. Can I see that?- Yes, absolutely.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- OK, thank you.- Please follow me. - If you're not too busy!
0:15:58 > 0:16:00SHE LAUGHS
0:16:00 > 0:16:02'Tassi may have been a magician with oil,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06'but in his private life he was a skilful trickster.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10'A known womaniser, Tassi's drunken brag was
0:16:10 > 0:16:15'he arranged the murder of his first wife as revenge for her infidelity.'
0:16:15 > 0:16:17We're in the process of restoring the house,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20so if it looks a bit weathered...
0:16:20 > 0:16:24that's why. But it's a labour of love.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28We feel a tremendous responsibility to future generations.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30There's a lot of beautiful work here.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34- This is, gosh, that's Tassi again. - That's La Fama.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Again, Tassi framed one of Guercino's...
0:16:37 > 0:16:40These curved barley-corn columns are his work.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Yes, these are the Columns of Solomon.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44You'll see those at St Peter's.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47And then as you go around, the gold is 24-carat gold,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49with which they paint.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53- There is a different scene in each one of these alcoves.- Yeah.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56- This is quite subtle work. - Beautiful work.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58And so modern for his time.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01He was really thinking outside of the box, in a sense.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05- And he was brilliant, and his work was exquisite.- Thank you.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08It's been absolutely eye-opening to see his work.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10- He was quite brilliant, I think. - He was bit of a...
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- He was a naughty boy... - A naughty man.- He was naughty.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18It just adds to the sort of levels and the mystery of the story, really,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21that he could do such beautiful work and be pretty brutish.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Exactly.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31A rising star, Agostino Tassi started painting for the Pope
0:17:31 > 0:17:35alongside his friend, Artemisia's father, Orazio.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39He became almost one of the family.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Careful to hide away his teenage daughter from the corruption
0:17:47 > 0:17:51of the city, Orazio organised for her private art lessons
0:17:51 > 0:17:54with his friend, Agostino Tassi.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57What happened next is recorded forever in history,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00although the exact facts are still hard to determine.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Artemisia claims that one spring afternoon in 1611,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Tassi accosted her in her father's studio, followed her upstairs,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10and despite her pleas to be left alone,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13pushed her into the bedroom and raped her.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29To calm the enraged Artemisia, and in attempt to make good
0:18:29 > 0:18:32his violent act, Tassi promptly promised to marry her.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39With her precious virginity no longer intact,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and determined to keep the rape secret from her father,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Artemisia had no choice but to accept Tassi's offer.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51It is a total disaster for the whole family.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56But nobody knows but Artemisia.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59And so when Tassi comes back...
0:19:00 > 0:19:05..and abuses her again, now there is no other way than to obey.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08It's her man, in that sense.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13And so it's going to go on like this for a few months
0:19:13 > 0:19:16where he says, "It's OK, it's all right.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18"I am straightening things up."
0:19:18 > 0:19:22But then one day, Orazio will find out.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27And what he will find out, it's going to incense him
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and drive him crazy.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34- So this is all really difficult for everyone all round.- I would think so.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39So, Orazio reacts without really thinking,
0:19:39 > 0:19:44by taking his pledge to the Pope.
0:19:44 > 0:19:51So he writes to the Pope, not about his daughter's feelings or...
0:19:52 > 0:19:56No, about the fact that his goods, that is, Orazio's goods,
0:19:56 > 0:20:00has been destroyed, has been ruined,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05and so he asks reparation of something that has been done to him.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10She's never considered as a human being.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19In 1612, Orazio, to clear the family name,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22instigated legal proceedings against Tassi.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26It would go down as one of Rome's longest recorded rape trials.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Here in Rome's state archive,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34a unique piece of evidence has recently been restored.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38It's around 300 pages long and it could be the closest
0:20:38 > 0:20:43I can get to finding out what really happened between Artemisia and Tassi.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Faithfully recorded by a court notary, the transcripts include,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51in Artemisia's own words,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54a remarkably detailed description of the rape.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58TRANSLATED:
0:21:30 > 0:21:33So, very, very, very detailed...
0:21:33 > 0:21:35- Yeah.- ..of a very violent rape.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38I couldn't understand it all, but scratching the face
0:21:38 > 0:21:39and pulling the hair.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Yes. And she described the sexual relation here.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Very violent.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Very, very specifically written down. - Yeah.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57With Roman justice at the time, there was no jury to decide.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01It was left to the judge, who used Inquisitional techniques
0:22:01 > 0:22:05before proclaiming the final verdict in the name of God.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11In the justice of the 17th century, this is a rape.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14This is a rape because there was not a marriage there.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20And there was a relationship, sexual relationships,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23between a man and a virgin woman.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25And this is a rape for the law.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27What was Tassi's response?
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- Do you have that down there in the trial?- Yes.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Tassi says, he knows Artemisia
0:22:35 > 0:22:40but he had never had sexual relations with her.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44And many witnesses could confirm that.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46This is a drawing by Tassi.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50"Io del mio mal ministro fui."
0:22:50 > 0:22:54I was guilty of my bad situation.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58- Oh, well. Why did he do that? - To put in front of the judge.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Sounds like an admission of guilt.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Yes, but I think - "I'm guilty, I'm a good man,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07"I think about my, erm..."
0:23:09 > 0:23:11"..About my violence.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16"Yes, I can, I can, I can think about it."
0:23:16 > 0:23:18But I didn't do the rape.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25'To add to the complication, we find elsewhere in the record
0:23:25 > 0:23:29'Artemisia's statement that she slept with Tassi
0:23:29 > 0:23:31'for almost a year before the trial,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34'believing that they would soon be married.'
0:23:34 > 0:23:37What's her attitude to him?
0:23:37 > 0:23:41She says that, "I was with him willingly."
0:23:41 > 0:23:45In Italian she says "amore volmente," with love.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49In Italian, the world "love" is very important.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Love is "I trust".
0:23:52 > 0:23:56- "I want to be with you."- Mm. - So it's very profound.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01And she used it so we have to recognise it.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08It's hard for anyone today
0:24:08 > 0:24:11to understand Artemisia's true feelings for Tassi.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15On the one hand, he was her abuser, but on the other,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18marriage to him would clear her name.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Then sensational news reaches the court.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Despite Tassi's claims to the contrary, his wife is still alive.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33With marriage no longer an option,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Artemisia's "amore" quickly turns to hate,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39perhaps reflected in the powerful work
0:24:39 > 0:24:41that she was painting at the time.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47In one sense it is a kind of response.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50That way of depicting the subject so dramatically and graphically
0:24:50 > 0:24:54is kind of getting back at Agostino Tassi in a public way.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56But this was a period when that was just understood.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Why shouldn't she get revenge? She'd been wronged.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01That wasn't all there was about that painting.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03She's the first woman,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06the first artist perhaps to have expressed in art
0:25:06 > 0:25:11what it feels like to be a woman victimised,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15- and a woman who fantasises revenge for that victimisation.- Mm-hm.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- This is expression on a grand scale. - Yeah.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22So to try to make it just about her one life...
0:25:22 > 0:25:26It's made up of her life in so many ways, but it goes further than that.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32The trial had reached its tenth month.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35With both sides still proclaiming their innocence,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38the judge had one final method left to obtain the truth.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45In this case, he decides that Artemisia will be tortured.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Yeah, he decides for the victim. We don't know why.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52I have my own opinion about it,
0:25:52 > 0:25:57because Agostino Tassi was painting for the Pope in that period
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and it was very dangerous for the judge
0:26:00 > 0:26:04to destroy the hands of a painter of the Pope.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08And the judge decided for her the torture of the sibille.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- How does that work? - For her hands.- Yes.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14And it was very dangerous because she was a painter
0:26:14 > 0:26:16so it was dramatic.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18This is a piece of a rope.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22- Oh, you have one there. - It's only light...
0:26:22 > 0:26:26- So the hand goes out. - A light kind of sibille, this.- OK.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29So it goes round each joint. Oops.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- This is very, very light.- Thank you! I appreciate that!
0:26:32 > 0:26:34MICHAEL LAUGHS Oh, right.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37All four together, over the joints. And them...
0:26:37 > 0:26:39And then so. OK.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I can see. It stops the blood, but that's quite gentle.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Was there...? What was the severe...?
0:26:46 > 0:26:50- What was the severe form? - Only for women.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- Only for women.- OK.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57And there is a stronger way for women, too, and the drawing is that.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02- This is a drawing from the end of the 16th century.- Yeah.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05This is iron and this is wood.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08So that's using, instead of rope, that's iron and wood,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10which could really break your fingers.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Only for women, because for men the torture was stronger.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18DRUMROLL AND TRUMPET SOUNDS
0:27:20 > 0:27:21By 17th-century standards,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24it was certainly preferable to other common options
0:27:24 > 0:27:26such as piercing, crushing,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29amputation, starvation or hanging.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37So, finally, after all this evidence, the torture,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39was there a conclusion?
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Yes, there was a conclusion.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46Because Artemisia under torture said that she was raped,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50so that was the truth for the judge
0:27:50 > 0:27:55and the judge will decide in this way, so Agostino Tassi is guilty.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Against all odds, the Gentileschi had won.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10But as the shocking news of the trial outcome reverberated
0:28:10 > 0:28:13through the streets of Rome, victory would be short-lived.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Agostino Tassi's punishment was mild -
0:28:19 > 0:28:21a five-year exile from Rome.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23A sentence he never served.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28Whilst for Artemisia, the supposed victor, it was another story.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31She's dishonoured for ever.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Everybody's laughing when she walks in the street.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37She is the woman that Agostino Tassi has had.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40She's completely finished as far as reputation is concerned
0:28:40 > 0:28:44and the whole family Gentileschi is stained forever.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49So, in a way, it's obviously fantastic because it's proved
0:28:49 > 0:28:54she's saying the truth, but the result is that she is a lost woman.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56So what was Artemisia to do then?
0:28:56 > 0:29:00No other choice - the convent, or marriage.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02It was here.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03Let's have a look in.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10'Armed with a hefty dowry, and the promise of her lucrative potential
0:29:10 > 0:29:14'as a painter, Orazio finally found a buyer for his daughter.'
0:29:14 > 0:29:16CHOIR SINGS IN LATIN
0:29:23 > 0:29:27'On November 29th, 1612,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30'Artemisia was married here in Santo Spirito
0:29:30 > 0:29:33'to a Florentine - Pierantonio Stiattesi.'
0:29:35 > 0:29:38- Tell me about her husband. Did she know him?- No.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41She had met him in the afternoon for the first time.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44The man was coming from Florence for the wedding.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46He was the younger brother of the lawyer
0:29:46 > 0:29:50that had helped her father in the case.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52But she has never seen him,
0:29:52 > 0:29:56and the luck, that he's young, and rather handsome,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59and rather kind and not an old man
0:29:59 > 0:30:02who they pulled out from God knows where.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07So she's rather surprised because the man she's marrying seems OK.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12She's married here at night with all the doors closed.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15The Gentileschi fear that at any moment
0:30:15 > 0:30:19the friends of Agostino Tassi, and Tassi himself, who knows,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22could come here and just break the neck of Artemisia
0:30:22 > 0:30:24and also of her husband-to-be.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27So the wedding is completely secret.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29Do we know who married them? A priest? A friend?
0:30:29 > 0:30:32No, it was the priest of the parish.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36He himself was very nervous because it's completely against the law
0:30:36 > 0:30:39to close the door of a church during a wedding.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43You have to have all the doors open so anybody who would say
0:30:43 > 0:30:46the person is already married could come in.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49So where in the church did they get married? The altar or...?
0:30:49 > 0:30:53They did not get married in front of the main altar but they got
0:30:53 > 0:30:58married in a very small chapel, which is on the side, with no-one.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00Artemisia did not have a woman with her.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Usually, when you are the bride you have people...
0:31:03 > 0:31:05- A maidservant or somebody?- Yes.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09No-one, just the future wife, the future husband, the father
0:31:09 > 0:31:10and two witnesses.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14Strangely enough, at the beginning, it would be a true couple.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17It would be an association, a business association,
0:31:17 > 0:31:22because he takes care of dealing with the contracts and everything,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24and she paints and begins painting.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27So here, her career really begins.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30# In questo prato adorno
0:31:30 > 0:31:32# Ogni selvaggio nume
0:31:32 > 0:31:36# Sovente ha per costume
0:31:36 > 0:31:39# Di far lieto soggiorno. #
0:31:39 > 0:31:41If Rome was Artemisia's undoing,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44then Florence was to be the making of her.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Assisted by letters of introduction from her father,
0:31:46 > 0:31:50Artemisia arrived here in Florence not long after her marriage.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53# Sovente ha per costume
0:31:53 > 0:31:57# Di far lieto soggiorno. #
0:31:57 > 0:32:00This was a second chance for her.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04An opportunity for her to shake off the stigma of the rape trial and
0:32:04 > 0:32:09rise again as a professional painter, but this time on her own terms.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12That is, so long as she stayed out of trouble.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17# Qui Pan dio de' pastori
0:32:17 > 0:32:19# S'udi talor dolente
0:32:20 > 0:32:23# Rimembrar dolcemente
0:32:23 > 0:32:26# Suoi sventurati amori. #
0:32:27 > 0:32:3217th-century Florence was a wealthy city of merchants
0:32:32 > 0:32:35and warlords dominated by the Medici,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38a dynasty of bankers in the last throes of their reign.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44For the newly arrived Artemisia, illiterate and with a chequered past,
0:32:44 > 0:32:48finding the crucial patron she would need would not be easy.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07By Artemisia struck lucky. Her first break came from none other than
0:33:07 > 0:33:09Michelangelo Buonarroti The Younger,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11the great-nephew of Michelangelo.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19Artemisia, both as a woman artist and an expert on the female nude,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22was to be the perfect choice for his new project.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27Atermisia's panel was called The Allegory of Inclination.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30That is to say, the female personification
0:33:30 > 0:33:34of a particular quality of the artist Michelangelo.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37And so, the inclination means he was destined to be a great artist
0:33:37 > 0:33:39by virtue of his birth.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43Did she come to Florence with a different attitude, having left Rome?
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Was this something new for her?
0:33:45 > 0:33:48You might say she thought she had that inclination, you know.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50She too was someone destined to be...
0:33:50 > 0:33:53She was fiercely ambitious, fiercely ambitious.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56This is the most important thing about her, I think.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58And not just to succeed,
0:33:58 > 0:34:00not to be somebody who got great commissions
0:34:00 > 0:34:02and was known around Europe -
0:34:02 > 0:34:06that was true, but she really wanted to be a great artist.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10She got the concept from looking around her at this very place.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13I think the idea, almost, was planted.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16If it hadn't planted already it was planted for her in the way
0:34:16 > 0:34:19that Michelangelo was celebrated.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21I mean, she really had that goal in mind.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25She wanted to be a great artist, not just a great woman artist,
0:34:25 > 0:34:26- a great artist...- Yes.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31..compared to Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Orazio certainly.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34HARPSICHORD PLAYS
0:34:36 > 0:34:40A canny strategist, Artemisia began to educate herself
0:34:40 > 0:34:42in music and literature,
0:34:42 > 0:34:43using her beauty and charm
0:34:43 > 0:34:47to move through the elite circles of Florentine society.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52But before she could achieve her ultimate goal
0:34:52 > 0:34:54of accessing the Medici court itself,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57she needed to produce work on a grander scale.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01- Nicola?- Hello, Michael.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03Hello, very nice to meet you.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07Nicola McGregor runs a painting workshop in the centre of Florence
0:35:07 > 0:35:10along similar lines to the one Artemisia was assembling
0:35:10 > 0:35:11for her fledging business.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Would she have had assistants and a workshop to run?
0:35:17 > 0:35:19On the large paintings and on frescoes,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21she'd have definitely had assistants.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23Probably some that were very good at doing flesh tones,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26some that were very good at doing landscapes.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29The design, obviously, was hers, the drawing was hers,
0:35:29 > 0:35:30the ideas were hers.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32She probably mapped it out.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35You know, the last say is obviously by the artist.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42Although the vision was ultimately Artemisia's,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45much of her work does not bear her signature, which has led to
0:35:45 > 0:35:51heated debates among scholars about what is and what is not by her hand.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Most of her work was commissioned specifically.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58They weren't painters that were just sitting in their studio,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01painting, trying to find a buyer.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05They would've painted on commission.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08So it was obvious, if you commission a painting from Artemisia,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11so there was no need to sign.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Artemisia didn't just have a business to run, she had a family too.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23Information recently discovered by Dr Sheila Barker shows that she
0:36:23 > 0:36:27lived with her husband in this area, close to Sant'Ambrogio church.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32It was during this time their first two children died.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35The third child,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38who was baptised here, is Cristofano,
0:36:38 > 0:36:42named after a painter that she was friends with,
0:36:42 > 0:36:44and who was godfather of the child.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48- So that's three children we know for certain perished?- Yeah.- Wow.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Was this in any way common at that time?
0:36:51 > 0:36:54Or was it very unusual to have...?
0:36:55 > 0:37:00- Lose three children?- I would say it's very bad statistics.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04To lose your first three children is quite unusual, even in those times.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15While in Florence, Artemisia gave birth to one surviving daughter,
0:37:15 > 0:37:19who she called Prudentia, after her late mother.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Although touched by loss, Artemisia remained productive,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30making her way each day across the city to her workshop.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34So I suppose it's not changed a lot, Florence, has it?
0:37:34 > 0:37:36- No, not in the essential ways, no! - Well, that's good.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39- We're doing Artemisia's walk... - To work.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42- ..through Florence. - Her daily commute.- Yeah.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Would she be with anybody, or walking on her own?
0:37:44 > 0:37:47She would have been very careful to walk with a servant
0:37:47 > 0:37:51- so that she would be seen as a great lady.- Ah, I see.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54- So status was important? - Very important.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56And clothing would have been very important
0:37:56 > 0:38:00as a way of announcing her status as well.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03I can tell you from the purchases she was making
0:38:03 > 0:38:07that it was perhaps her most important business decision.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10So what kind of outfits are we talking about here?
0:38:10 > 0:38:13- Were these expensive dresses? - Extremely expensive.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16She was dressing at the level of the ladies at court.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19And yet she didn't pay for any of it.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23- You walked into the stores and took it all on credit.- Fantastic!
0:38:23 > 0:38:26- I call it creative financing.- OK! LAUGHS
0:38:26 > 0:38:28That's much more poetic.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39With her eye always on the main chance,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Artemisia made sure to pass through this square in her finest outfits,
0:38:43 > 0:38:48hoping to attract the attention of the wealthy residents of Santa Croce,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51with their contacts to the Medici court.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57The piazza's filled with the palaces of the wealthy silk merchants
0:38:57 > 0:38:59that she was contracting debts with.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03Artemisia sought out these cavaliere,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05these knights of Florence.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09Because not only were they wealthy, but, as knights, they would've been
0:39:09 > 0:39:13invited to all the court festivals, and they would've had
0:39:13 > 0:39:18the opportunity to mention this fantastically talented woman.
0:39:18 > 0:39:24They were happy to be able to broker a relationship between her
0:39:24 > 0:39:27and the Grand Duke - that made them important.
0:39:27 > 0:39:32So as she's dressing the part of the heroine she paints,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35she becomes a kind of walking heroine.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39And she allows for these potential patrons
0:39:39 > 0:39:43to enter into this imaginary story.
0:39:43 > 0:39:44It was theatre.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48She has prearranged - in this one particular case -
0:39:48 > 0:39:52to be in the home of a gold merchant that she was friends with.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57And the two of them have plans to be in a conversation
0:39:57 > 0:40:00just as a wealthy silk merchant walks in the door.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Artemisia says to her friend, "Please, loan me this money,
0:40:04 > 0:40:06"I'm desperate for this money!"
0:40:06 > 0:40:09And he responds, "I wish I could, but I can't.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11"I don't have the money."
0:40:11 > 0:40:13And who saves the day?
0:40:13 > 0:40:16The wealthy silk merchant walking in the door
0:40:16 > 0:40:20sees a woman in distress, and he offers to loan her the money.
0:40:20 > 0:40:21So she was an actress?
0:40:21 > 0:40:23She was a consummate actress, it sounds like, too?
0:40:23 > 0:40:26She was a scriptwriter as well!
0:40:26 > 0:40:31So he loaned her the money, and of course, she didn't pay it back,
0:40:31 > 0:40:33she gave him a painting in exchange.
0:40:33 > 0:40:39Music and art were the vocabulary that was
0:40:39 > 0:40:42shared by all of these refined gentleman.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45And Artemisia made a point of learning that vocabulary.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59It would seem that Artemisia's strategy paid off.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Many of her works can be found
0:41:01 > 0:41:04amongst the priceless treasures of the Pitti Palace.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13By painting popular historical themes,
0:41:13 > 0:41:17Artemisia fully developed a style of her own,
0:41:17 > 0:41:21whilst maintaining one of her most loyal and influential patrons -
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Cosimo II de' Medici.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29What strikes me so powerfully about this painting
0:41:29 > 0:41:31is the moment of drama it captures.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34And this is a very dramatic moment in the story
0:41:34 > 0:41:36of the beheading of Holofernes.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40The deed has been done, they're about to leave the tent,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42and something has made them stop.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46And the way Artemisia's captured Judith's face there,
0:41:46 > 0:41:51you can see what she's done, the slight flushing of the cheeks,
0:41:51 > 0:41:55the damp curls on the head, you know what she's been through.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Her mouth just slightly open, waiting, listening,
0:41:58 > 0:42:00that someone might discover them.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03And you can see the servant there, looking off to one side.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05But really Artemisia has made Judith
0:42:05 > 0:42:07the centre of attention in this painting.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Even the way the light source comes in,
0:42:09 > 0:42:11it comes on her neck and her breast
0:42:11 > 0:42:14and reminds us, this is a woman who has done this deed.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Not apologising for femininity, celebrating it,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20but she's had to do this deed.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22And the great thing is that the head of Holofernes
0:42:22 > 0:42:23is almost like an afterthought.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26There it is, down the bottom of the painting,
0:42:26 > 0:42:28rather like they've just got it from the supermarket.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32There's a certain sense
0:42:32 > 0:42:34in which every artist is always in every work.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37It's something that's been attributed to Cosimo de' Medici
0:42:37 > 0:42:40in the 15th century - "Every artist paints himself."
0:42:40 > 0:42:43In a sense, Artemisia's always painting herself.
0:42:43 > 0:42:44So she's in it.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46But "she's in the character"
0:42:46 > 0:42:50doesn't mean the character can be reduced to that particular person.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52To me, that's an important distinction.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55She helps to give that character reality.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Artemisia flourished in Florence.
0:43:08 > 0:43:09Most significantly,
0:43:09 > 0:43:13she created a series of complex female protagonists.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23It seems to me Artemisia might have used her own tragic experiences -
0:43:23 > 0:43:28the loss of her mother, her rape and the premature death of her children -
0:43:28 > 0:43:31to breathe life into the wronged women of history.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34The likes of Cleopatra.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36Lucrecia.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Bathsheba.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39And Mary Magdalene.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Magdalene, for example, the tainted woman who became redeemed
0:43:45 > 0:43:49by virtue of her conversion to follow Christ.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52So these characters have, even when they're good,
0:43:52 > 0:43:56they have a dimension of complexity.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00That's not always captured in art, it tends to be either-or.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Artemisia gives them that dimensionality,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06so there's a kind of deeper psychology in her characters.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16She depicted their suffering, captured their longing,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19and understood their tangled moral dilemmas.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23Transforming them from victims into survivors.
0:44:28 > 0:44:33Her time in the city had in fact been a triumph, professionally.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36Culminating in the highest honour an artist could receive -
0:44:36 > 0:44:39membership of the Academy of Drawing and Arts.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44Artemisia was one of the first women to receive such public recognition
0:44:44 > 0:44:48and proof of her inclination as a great painter.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56Never one to stay out of trouble for long,
0:44:56 > 0:45:00Artemisia's own reality was becoming slightly complicated.
0:45:03 > 0:45:08By 1620, estranged from her husband and behind with her commissions,
0:45:08 > 0:45:13Artemisia decided to leave Florence in search of new adventures.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22The dramatic backdrop of Naples
0:45:22 > 0:45:26would become home to Artemisia for the last act of her life.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32After a decade of travel through the great cities of Europe
0:45:32 > 0:45:34as a feted lady artist,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37she finally made her base in this Spanish-ruled city,
0:45:37 > 0:45:40with 450,000 inhabitants
0:45:40 > 0:45:44and 500 churches crammed inside its old walls.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48Which of course meant wealthy patrons and abundant church commissions.
0:45:51 > 0:45:52Artemisia's stay in Naples
0:45:52 > 0:45:56was in marked contrast to her time in Rome and Florence.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59The narrow streets of the Spanish quarter were full to bursting
0:45:59 > 0:46:01with a recent surge of immigrants.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Within a year of her arrival here, Mount Vesuvius erupted spectacularly,
0:46:05 > 0:46:07killing thousands along the coast.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10There were even rumours that incoming artists were being
0:46:10 > 0:46:14poisoned by indigenous painters for stealing their commissions.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22By now, Artemisia was a seasoned survivor.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Her clever stratagems and business prowess
0:46:25 > 0:46:29meant she quickly established new patrons here
0:46:29 > 0:46:33whilst being careful to keep up her old contacts from a distance.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35And she's got some quite impressive friends.
0:46:35 > 0:46:41Galileo was someone she wrote to in 1635. Galileo Galilei.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43And she writes to him as a friend -
0:46:43 > 0:46:47"My most illustrious sir and most respected master."
0:46:47 > 0:46:50And then proceeds onto a bit of a whinge
0:46:50 > 0:46:52about someone who's not paid up:
0:46:52 > 0:46:55"From his most serene highness, my natural prince..."
0:46:55 > 0:47:00Ferdinando II. "..I've received no favour.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02"I assure your lordship that I would value the smallest
0:47:02 > 0:47:05"of favours from him more than the many I've received
0:47:05 > 0:47:08"from the King of France, the King of Spain, the King of England -
0:47:08 > 0:47:10"and all the other princes of Europe."
0:47:10 > 0:47:12So she's quite good at dropping a few names.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16A letter here in 1636 to Andrea Cioli in Florence.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21He was attached to Cosimo Medici, a secretary to the court there.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26In this, you really hear her spirits dropping a bit.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29"I have no further desire to stay in Naples.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32"Both because of the fighting" - "tumulti di guerra" -
0:47:32 > 0:47:36"and because of the hard life and the high cost of living.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38"Please be so kind as to reply to me,
0:47:38 > 0:47:42"since I have no other desire in this life."
0:47:42 > 0:47:45Again, touch of the drama there, touch of the drama queen.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Always part of Artemisia's approach.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53Apart from these letters,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57there's very little information about Artemisia's life in Naples.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04What we do know is that the only time she did leave this turbulent city was
0:48:04 > 0:48:09for two years in London, where she added Charles I to her contact book.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15And it was there she buried her father Orazio,
0:48:15 > 0:48:18who had been working in England as a court painter.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25The few pieces that've survived from her Neapolitan period
0:48:25 > 0:48:27show a variable output,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30producing an acknowledged masterpiece -
0:48:30 > 0:48:34an innovative self-portrait, now in the British Royal Collection...
0:48:37 > 0:48:41..but also more commercial work, with a softer edge.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45Did she see herself as a brand in Naples?
0:48:45 > 0:48:50After 1630, the whole artistic milieu in Italy changes.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53Caravaggio's revolution had been the radical turning point
0:48:53 > 0:48:57of the Italian art, and probably of the European art, in many respects.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01But it was a very sort of short spark.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06And after that, the baroque came up with new issues and new instances.
0:49:06 > 0:49:11And she changes her style, like many other painters of her time.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14So she becomes also very Neapolitan in some respects.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18She uses the palette and the colours of the Neapolitan artists.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22She probably abandons the dark lighting of the early works.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26On one hand, she was to collaborate with prominent masters
0:49:26 > 0:49:31of the local artistic milieu like Stanzione or Cavallino.
0:49:31 > 0:49:32On the other hand,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36she was to produce quite a number of versions, executed
0:49:36 > 0:49:39at different degrees of quality,
0:49:39 > 0:49:45in order to satisfy cheaper orders, cheaper commissions.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52We know Artemisia continued to paint into her 60s,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55but how and when she died is still a mystery.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05One theory is that she was claimed by the great plague of 1656,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08which swept through Naples.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10But like much of her history,
0:50:10 > 0:50:16the details have been lost over the centuries which separate her from us.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20But as another chapter opens in the city of her greatest triumphs,
0:50:20 > 0:50:24Artemisia Gentileschi could be coming a little closer.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35One of Artemisia's large-scale commissions
0:50:35 > 0:50:39has been discovered in the attics of the Pitti Palace in Florence.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47Part of a mission by modern-day patron Jane Fortune
0:50:47 > 0:50:49to rescue neglected artworks by women.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54There are 2,000 works of art by women that we found
0:50:54 > 0:50:57that have been languishing there for centuries.
0:50:57 > 0:51:02And the Artemisia Gentileschi had been there for 363 years.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06It was in deplorable condition. The humidity - there had once
0:51:06 > 0:51:09been a hole in the roof and the rain had come down on it.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13So when we saw it, most of the paint had come off.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17There were just chunks of pieces where you didn't see anything.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19And there was a question as to
0:51:19 > 0:51:22whether they should restore it or not,
0:51:22 > 0:51:24because it was in such deplorable condition.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27But I said, it's an Artemisia Gentileschi -
0:51:27 > 0:51:32she's one of the finest painters in the world, man or woman.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36She's one of the best. You cannot let this painting die.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38And that's what it was going to do, just die.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43The onerous task of restoration
0:51:43 > 0:51:47fell to Nicola McGregor's conservation workshop.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49It was a huge project
0:51:49 > 0:51:52because of the size of the painting to begin with,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55and because of the amount of damage.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57And not only the amount of missing areas,
0:51:57 > 0:52:00but also the parts of the colour that were still there
0:52:00 > 0:52:03had obviously been cleaned and recleaned.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06A lot of the final glazes were no longer there,
0:52:06 > 0:52:10so it didn't have the rounded finish
0:52:10 > 0:52:13that most post-Caravaggesque paintings have,
0:52:13 > 0:52:15and her other paintings.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18Can you describe what would be the process of dealing with
0:52:18 > 0:52:22an Artemisia painting in a bad state?
0:52:22 > 0:52:24You have to decide whether
0:52:24 > 0:52:28the colour needs consolidating immediately,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31so that you can touch it or move it.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36Or, very often it needs cleaning first, a very gentle cleaning,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39because sometimes there's a lot of old retouching
0:52:39 > 0:52:41that covers the original paint.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45And of course, one forgets that a painting has a life of its own.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Over the years it's been repainted and touched up
0:52:47 > 0:52:51- and changed in many different shapes and forms.- Yes.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55I mean, usually, most of the paintings I've worked on,
0:52:55 > 0:53:00like the Artemisia, have had four or five different filling layers,
0:53:00 > 0:53:07which meant that over the years it had been restored repeatedly.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11They did restore it, but it's very controversial how they did it
0:53:11 > 0:53:14because they didn't paint over, like they normally do with paintings.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18What they did is they did muted colours, blues and tans,
0:53:18 > 0:53:22and filled in the spots that were missing the paint,
0:53:22 > 0:53:26and so what happens is, when you stand away from the painting
0:53:26 > 0:53:29your eye makes it look like the painting is full.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31When you come up to the painting,
0:53:31 > 0:53:34you can see where it's been filled in.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37We couldn't repaint the eye. We wanted to keep it consistent,
0:53:37 > 0:53:42so that what was left of Artemisia would emerge.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45It's an amazing piece, it's an amazing piece.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48And when they did it they could not find David in the painting.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50And it was about a week or so
0:53:50 > 0:53:53before we were going to show the painting to the public,
0:53:53 > 0:53:55and they were cleaning up in this little corner,
0:53:55 > 0:53:59and here's David, this little teeny, teeny picture of David,
0:53:59 > 0:54:01and everybody was so excited we found David!
0:54:12 > 0:54:16This rediscovery is now part of an ongoing quest to define
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Artemisia's output, culminating tonight in
0:54:20 > 0:54:23an international conference of academics, writers and fans
0:54:23 > 0:54:28from all over the world who have come here to talk Artemisia.
0:54:28 > 0:54:33To me, Artemisia is so interesting because she's like a chameleon.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36She's so often hidden under all the names
0:54:36 > 0:54:38and other artists' names.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40And she comes, after scrutiny,
0:54:40 > 0:54:45she comes to be a very unpredictable artist at times.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47That's why I like her.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50You have a feeling, this ridiculous feeling, you know her in some way,
0:54:50 > 0:54:53or she's telling you something and you have to respond in some way.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56- It becomes a very personal art for a lot of people.- Exactly.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58Yes, I think so.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01I think people responded very personally to her.
0:55:01 > 0:55:02They feel they know her.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04I think she speaks, particularly for women,
0:55:04 > 0:55:06to some aspect of their lives.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10They want to champion her, and as they do they champion themselves.
0:55:10 > 0:55:11I think there's a lot to that.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15Is this still a lot of information to be gathered on Artemisia?
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Archives to be unlocked?
0:55:17 > 0:55:20It's still a mine to be explored.
0:55:20 > 0:55:21You know, we only have
0:55:21 > 0:55:23these individual slices of moments in her life.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28Someday maybe we'll have a more wide picture of the whole life.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32In her keynote speech, world expert Mary Garrard
0:55:32 > 0:55:36highlights a disturbing new trend in attribution.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40The Artemisia discourse has also generated sharp disagreements
0:55:40 > 0:55:43over attributions among scholars and curators -
0:55:43 > 0:55:45even between co-curators -
0:55:45 > 0:55:48with the result that Artemisia's artistic identity
0:55:48 > 0:55:50is far from fixed or agreed upon.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53More and more works are turning up in recent exhibitions
0:55:53 > 0:55:57and on the market which are pretty questionable
0:55:57 > 0:55:59as attributions to Artemisia,
0:55:59 > 0:56:01and with the result that we used to have
0:56:01 > 0:56:03a much clearer sense of the oeuvre.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Now we're being asked to accept things that
0:56:06 > 0:56:10either widen our understanding of what she was capable of,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12or really we should just raise our eyebrows and say,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15"That's not possible."
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Artemisia's name cannot be a wastebasket into which
0:56:17 > 0:56:21we dump images of women that do not remotely resemble
0:56:21 > 0:56:24those she painted, or even each other.
0:56:24 > 0:56:25Realistically...
0:56:25 > 0:56:27With Artemisia Gentileschi paintings
0:56:27 > 0:56:29now selling for over a million dollars,
0:56:29 > 0:56:32and with around half of what she produced still missing,
0:56:32 > 0:56:36it's no wonder that so many works of dubious quality
0:56:36 > 0:56:40and providence are emerging from the woodwork.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42We can account for this tremendous range of works
0:56:42 > 0:56:43that don't look much alike
0:56:43 > 0:56:46by the fact that she was a kind of chameleon.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48She was out to please her patrons.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50But to say that she did that all the time
0:56:50 > 0:56:53and that's why none of these things look like each other
0:56:53 > 0:56:56is to take away all her artistic identity completely,
0:56:56 > 0:56:59and say she didn't have any core. She didn't have any sort of...
0:56:59 > 0:57:01And I don't think that's plausible
0:57:01 > 0:57:03on the basis of the works that we know.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06She was too strong and too determined
0:57:06 > 0:57:10and too coherent a personality, an artist, for that to be the case.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14Not only was she a woman in a man's world,
0:57:14 > 0:57:17handicapped by gender, rather she was an artist
0:57:17 > 0:57:23with an edge, whose legacy is ours to recover and preserve.
0:57:23 > 0:57:24Thank you.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26APPLAUSE
0:57:26 > 0:57:29My quest for Artemisia is almost over.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Let's hope that having finally found a fuller picture of this
0:57:32 > 0:57:36unique artist, we're not in danger of losing her again.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41Artemisia Gentileschi was a force of nature.
0:57:41 > 0:57:43You can see it in her paintings,
0:57:43 > 0:57:47the best of which combine physical energy and emotional engagement.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51You can also see it in the subjects she chose, very often
0:57:51 > 0:57:55the wronged woman of history - Susanna, Cleopatra, Lucrecia, Judith.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57And she didn't treat them as victims,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00but as people in control of their own destiny.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02And you can see it in her own life.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05Artemisia was a survivor.
0:58:05 > 0:58:06She was a cool operator
0:58:06 > 0:58:10who never compromised her sexuality or her femininity.
0:58:10 > 0:58:11In fact, she used them both
0:58:11 > 0:58:15to create a whole new way of looking at woman in art.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22Very nice to see you. Excellent.
0:58:22 > 0:58:23Excellent.