User:Ecradu01/sandbox

Hi! I am a new editor. I am interested in subjects like Gender, Queer studies, and Women artists.

My possible articles of focus are Artemisia Gentileschi, Women artists, Feminist art, and Eva Gonzalès, as I would like to explore how female artists were treated in an area that was mostly controlled by men as well as what female artists have accomplished throughout history.

Helpful sources:

1.	Nochlin, Linda. “Why Have There Been No Great Woman Artists?” Woman in Sexist Society: Studies in Power and Powerlessness, edited by Vivian Gornick and Barbara K. Moran, Basic Books, 1971.

a.	This article is credited as being the one that sparked feminist scholars' interest in Artemisia Gentileschi. Nochlin only mentions Artemisia once, focusing more so on the broad question of the article. She analyzes the reasons we do not give attention to female artists, and why, when we do, we deem them only acceptable. This article is important to my contribution because it explores how and why women have been denied space in art as a result of oppressive institutions, leading to a lack of recognition of female artists that has only begun to be corrected in relatively recent art history.

2.	Straussman-Pflanzer, Eve. Violence & Virtue: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes. Art Institute of Chicago, 2013.

a.	Judith Slaying Holofernes is considered to be Artemisia's best and most meaningful work. Artemisia was raped as a young woman and then went on to have a career in painting images of assertive, violent, and powerful women; eminist art historians and scholars interpret the piece as an expression of Artemisia's emotions concerning the assault. Straussman-Pflanzer's book analyzes the painting and its interpretations, including those of feminists, which will be helpful in my paper. It also gives credit to Linda Nochlin for creating feminist interest in Artemisia, which I mention in my contribution.

3.	Pollock, Griselda. “Feminist Dilemmas with the Art/Life Problem.” The Artemisia Files: Artemisia Gentileschi for Feminists and Other Thinking People, edited by Mieke Bal, University of Chicago Press, 2006, pp. 169-208.

a.	This source examines the representation of Artemisia in works of fiction as compared to the Artemisia recorded in documents from the rape trial. Pollock argues with and against feminist critique and interpretations of Artemisia in an attempt to determine if the “true” Artemisia can really be known. This is a source that is useful for both my contribution, as it is centered around feminist perspective, and for my positions paper as well.

4.	Benedetti, Laura. “Reconstructing Artemisia, Twentieth Century Images of a Woman Artist.” Comparative Literature, vol. 51, no. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 42-6.

a.	I used this reference in my contribution while discussing the reason for Artemisia's fame. Her sexual assault and the subsequent trial were highly publicized. Benedetti said that this publicity was a large component of Artemisia's fame, which is supported by how much literature focuses on her trial as opposed to her paintings. I think that this reference will also be helpful when writing my analytical paper.

5.	Ciletti, Elena. “Gran Macchina a Bellezza.” The Artemisia Files: Artemisia Gentileschi for Feminists and Other Thinking People, edited by Mieke Bal, University of Chicago Press, 2006, pp. 63-105.

a.	In this essay, Elena Ciletti offers formal analysis of Artemisia’s Judith paintings that takes into consideration the biblical story and how it has been interpreted and used to construct Artemisia’s personality. She discusses interest in Artemisia, feminist and otherwise, as well as why Artemisia’s work is still relevant to us today. I quoted Ciletti in my contribution and will also incorporate her thoughts into my positions paper.

6.	Garrard, Mary D. Artemisia Gentileschi around 1622: The Shaping and Reshaping of an Artistic Identity, University of California Press, 2001.

a.	Mary D. Garrard is a scholar known for her work in feminist art theory; her 1989 book about Artemisia was the first full examination of Artemisia’s life and works. This 2001 book focuses on two of Artemisia’s lesser known paintings, incorporating feminist theory and historical analysis to examine Artemisia’s identity as an artist and a woman. Garrard’s discussion about the shaping of Artemisia’s identity will be interesting to consider as I write my positions paper.

7.	Locker, Jesse M. Artemisia Gentileschi: The Language of Painting. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2015.

a.	Artemisia Gentileschi was illiterate for most of her life, only able to read a little around the time of her trial. Later in her life, however, she was able to succeed in cultured, philosophical, and literary spheres. This book looks at her life in royal courts and argues that Artemisia had more presence and influence in those social circles than most would believe. I think that this book does a thorough job in challenging assumptions about Artemisia's life and I anticipate it being a helpful source for my positions paper.

8.	Cropper, Elizabeth. “Life on the Edge: Artemisia Gentileschi, Famous Woman Painter.” Orazio and Artemesia Gentileschi, edited by Keith Christiansen and Judith W. Mann, 2001.

a.	This essay appears in a lengthy collection of writing about Artemisia and her father, Orazio. Cropper looks closely at Artemisia’s carefully balanced life of fame and notoriety, scandal and success. Artemisia was well-known both then and now for a number of reasons, and Cropper argues that in order to comprehend Artemisia as best we can, both her work and personal life must be examined. Cropper’s essay introduces some facts, references, and correspondence that I had not seen before, and I think they will be valuable when writing my positions paper.

Feminist interest in Artemisia Gentileschi was sparked in the 1970s when feminist art historian Linda Nochlin published an article titled “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” in which that question was dissected and analyzed. The article explored the definition of "great artists" and how oppressive institutions, not lack of talent, have prevented women from achieving the same level of recognition that men received in art and other fields. Nochlin said that studies on Artemisia and other female artists were “worth the effort” in “adding to our knowledge of women's achievement and of art history generally.” According to the foreword by Douglas Druick in Eve Straussman-Pflanzer's Violence & Virtue: Artemisia’s Judith Slaying Holofernes, Nochlin’s article prompted scholars to make more of an attempt to “integrate women artists into the history of art and culture.” Artemisia and her oeuvre became a focus again, having had little attention in art history scholarship save Roberto Longhi’s article "Gentileschi padre e figlia (Gentileschi, father and daughter)" in 1916 and R. Ward Bissell’s article "Artemisia Gentileschi- A New Documented Chronology" in 1968. As Artemisia and her work began to garner new attention among feminists and art historians, more literature about her, fictional and biographical, was published. A fictional account of her life by Anna Banti, wife of critic Roberto Longhi, was published in 1947. This account was received well by literary critics but was criticized by feminists, notably Laura Benedetti, for being lenient in historical accuracy in order to draw parallels between author and artist. The first full, factual account of Artemisia’s life, The Image of the Female Hero in Italian Baroque Art, was published in 1989 by Mary Garrard, a feminist art historian. She then published a second, smaller book titled Artemisia Gentileschi around 1622: The Shaping and Reshaping of an Artistic Identity in 2001 which explored the artist’s work and identity. Garrard noted that analysis of Artemisia’s oeuvre lacks focus and stable categorization outside of “woman,” though Garrard questions whether femaleness is a legitimate category by which to judge her art at all.

Artemisia is known for her portrayal of women in positions of power, like her painting Judith Slaying Holofernes. She is also known for the rape trial in which she was involved, which scholar Griselda Pollock said is now the “axis of interpretation of the artist’s work.” Her fame, though great among art historians, is deemed by Pollock to be less due to her work and more to the sensationalism caused by the trial. Feminist literature tends to revolve around the event of Artemisia’s rape, largely portraying her as a traumatized but noble survivor whose work became characterized by sex and violence as a result of her experience. A literature review by Laura Benedetti, "Reconstructing Artemisia: Twentieth Century Images of a Woman Artist," concluded that Artemisia’s work is often interpreted according to the contemporary issues and personal biases of the authors. Feminist scholars, for example, have elevated Artemisia to the status of feminist icon, which Benedetti attributed to Artemisia’s paintings of formidable women and her success as an artist in a male-dominated field while also being a single mother. Elena Ciletti, author of Gran Macchina a Bellezza, wrote that “The stakes are very high in Artemisia’s case, especially for feminists, because we have invested in her so much of our quest for justice for women, historically and currently, intellectually and politically.”