Artemisia [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The Protagonist is an amazing study. A Genius in art who was officially affirmed as such during a time when Women were never considered as much more than property. A courageous woman, who tempted a range of horrors by demanding the corrupt legal system deliver her justice. Here was a woman who challenged the Catholic Church, and some of its more unsavory historical despots, again to demand that the truth be known and the culprits punished. That she persisted is amazing, that she prevailed to the degree she did, astonishing.

This work brought to mind another strong, unconventional woman of influence, who was brought to readers in book form under the title "Georgiana". I would suggest that anyone who enjoyed the latter will find "Artemisia" a very engaging read.

None of this would have been possible without the work of Ms. Lapierre. It would be better said, her extraordinary work, as this is the book to read on Artemisia Gentileschi, if you choose only one. This work is readable without condescension; it is scholarly without being dense and pompous until rendered unreadable. The book is simply wonderful.

You need only to enjoy good writing to enjoy this book. If you are familiar with other artists of the period, more detail will be there for you, and Galileo makes an appearance as well.

Extremely good, deserves much more attention than the work has garnered thus far.

The book is not a novel as the title suggests but is indeed a historical biography of Artemisia Gentileschi and her times. The author has used her skills as a novelist to fill gaps in the story of Artemisia but only with the greatest sense of historical correctness. The author has carried out extensive research on her subject and has used the results of this research to help fill the gaps in the story of this famous artist. She lets the reader know that at times she has fictionalised some of the narrative but never the facts.

Alexandra Lapierre provides the reader with comprehensive notes and references to show the reader why she has decided to use certain narrative or placed a particular slant on her perspective of some events. I found that this manner of story telling in this particular account did not detract from the book in any fashion. It may not please those historians or experts in the field of art but to me, a novice, I found it a great approach to help the reader understand this great artist and the times she lived in.

A number of colour plates are provided of not only Artemisia's paintings but also her fathers and other artists involved in her story. A number of maps have also been placed in the book to assist the reader with following the story, events and travels of Artemisia.

The story itself was well told and in particular I found the account of the rape case very interesting. This is an intriguing and very enjoyable book and I hope that the idea of some of the narrative being fiction will not put other readers off. In fact the 80 pages of notes used by the author to support her account makes fascinating reading in themselves. The book is over 500 pages and I found it a very easy to read account and it has provoked in me a desire to learn more about this great female artist. This book is well worth the effort to sit down and read and I hope that many other readers out there enjoy this book as much as I did.

Just for the interest other readers, in Australia the book is titled `Artemisia: The Story of a Battle for Greatness'. Following are some reviews taken from the back cover:

"A book bristling with adventure, noise, passion and colour which recreates Baroque Italy in all its diversity, from the ballrooms to the torture chambers, from trials to marriages, from drinking parties to underground conspiracies" - Les Echos.

"Alexandra Lapierre has succeeded in enabling a non-specialist of the seventeenth century (99.9% of the population) to experience an artist's struggle through great literature." - Elle.