In Susanna and the Elders (Artemisia Gentileschi, Pommersfelden), how is the Father's guidance of the History elucidated?
Gentileschi's father, Orazio Gentileschi, was one of the first people in Italy to paint in the style of Caravaggio. With Gentileschi's father being her first teacher, it was not surprising that Gentileschi painted in a similar style. Art historians have different opinions about this version of Susanna and the Elders. Although there is no evidence to support them, opinions of art historians about the subject of these paintings abound. One opinion comes from Marry D. Garrard who thinks that Gentileschi is representing a rare visual of a woman who has been victimized. This is because Garrard believes that the painting could be related to Gentileschi's resistance to the sexual harassment that she received from men in her community before she was raped by Agostino Tassi. On the other hand, Gianni Papi stated his opinion that the two elders were meant to represent her father and her second teacher, Tassi, because it is thought that his harassment of her was going on in the years prior to the rape and trial. If she was being harassed by Tassi in the years leading up to the trial, Gentileschi could have been portraying her feelings of the harassment through this subject matter.
Agostino Tassi Gentileschi Orazio Gentileschi Susanna Caravaggio Italy Art historians