Artemisia – Schule der Sinnlichkeit (1997)

Artemisia – Schule der Sinnlichkeit: Directed by Agnès Merlet. With Michel Serrault, Valentina Cervi, Predrag ‘Miki’ Manojlovic, Luca Zingaretti. Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws…

“Another review of this movie stated that it is difficult to find a flaw in it. Perhaps that is true. It IS a very enjoyable movie. However, the events of the movie are not the events of Artemisia Gentileschiu0026#39;s life. This film portrays Tassi as an inspiration to Artemisia, and it portrays their sexual relationship as consensual. History proves differently. Artemisia Gentileschi was a far superior painter to Tassi. They also painted very different things. The depiction of the sexual relationships even more troubling. Artemisia maintained under brutal torture that Tassi raped her. Much of her greatest work addressed the themes of rape, and sex, and power. It makes me sad that this great artist had to struggle so hard in her life, struggle to be believed and taken seriously. It makes me even more sad that a film about her life would tell the story her attacker would like us to believe. It is as if the woman has been raped twice.”