Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most renowned female painters of Italy’s Baroque period. At 18, while she was being taught by her father’s colleague, she was raped by him. Her father sued the man for “injury and damage,” referring to damage of property. Artemisia maintained that she had been forcibly deflowered. She was subjected to the ‘sibille’, a torture device which tightened around fingers and crushed them, to test if she was telling the truth. As the sibille continued to tighten, she only repeated “It is true! It is true! It is true!” (é vero! é vero! é vero!)
The Agony of Artemisia
18 x 24 in
oil on canvas
2020