The Passion of Artemisia: A Novel

Well worth the read. It was a very engaging take on what her life may have been like, not sparing the harshness she encountered or the trauma. The beginning could be triggering to survivors of sexual abuse, but it was worth it to push through. Great book.

The Passion of Artemisia by Susan VreelandSource: PurchaseMy Rating: 5/5 starsMy Review:As some of you know, I am an Art Historian in my “real” life and one of my favorite genres is historical fiction related to art and artists. Susan Vreeland is hands-down one of my favorite authors and when she wrote The Passion of Artemisia, she found a fan for life in me. I hate being asked who my favorite artist is because I could never, ever choose just one but I do have a top twenty-ish list and Artemisia Gentileschi has been near the top of that list for many, many years.Artemisia Gentileschi was a woman far, far ahead of her time and her place and despite the all of the significant odds against her, she was able to succeed in a time and place when women were little more than property. Artemisia was born to paint and from an early age her father trained her in order to enhance her own innate talent. Intent on being a painter for the rest of her life, Artemisia’s path was set until the moment she was raped by one her father’s colleagues. For more than a year, Artemisia endured a very public trial to determine her guilt or innocence. Yes, you read that correctly, her guilt or innocence was on trial, not her rapists. For all intents and purposes, the allegation alone was enough to taint Artemisia and her reputation for life. By all accounts, Artemisia didn’t allow the rape nor the trial to defeat her but to empower her and inform her art for the rest of her life.Along with her trial, history also tells us that Artemisia did things that no woman before her ever had. First and foremost among her accomplishments was being the first woman admitted to the prestigious Florentine Academy. Following her admittance to the Academy, Artemisia spent her time and her life in the service of her patrons. From Rome to Florence to Venice to Naples and, to England, Artemisia worked for some Europe’s most important citizens including the Medici Family and the King of England. She tended toward large canvases featuring strong, determined and completely capable women as seen through the eyes of and interpreted by a woman who refused to be known as a victim but rather as a preeminent painter.The Bottom Line: This is my second reading of Vreeland’s Passion of Artemisia and as with the first reading, I was simply blown away. Vreeland has a singular ability to bring history to life. Vreeland takes the historical information that remains and turns it into a living, breathing human being, an individual whose impact on the world of art is nothing short of significant. Reading Vreeland’s account of Artemisia’s life reminds me of the fact that nothing is impossible!! Artemisia survived an unspeakable horror and rather than allowing that event to define her life, she rose above all that was done to her and succeeded in a way that no woman before her ever had. If her accomplishments during her own lifetime weren’t enough – and they certainly were – Vreeland’s accounting in this modern age is finely crafted reminder of what genius looks like.

I really loved this book. It was a choice in my book club. I had started reading it when I attended a lecture at my library about 5 female Italian artists from the 1500s and the 1600s. Artemisia was one of the 5 artists. That lecture added to my interest in Artemisia. I loved the way she was portrayed in the book. I enjoyed all the characters in the book. I liked how the history and mores of the time was represented. I really enjoyed her relationship with Galileo. Actually, there was nothing about the book that I didn’t like.I would absolutely recommend it.It’s based on the true history of these times and it’s very believable.

Historic fiction, well researched by the author, reminds us of the amazing perseverance and determination required to succeed as an artist, especially in the 1600's. Artemisia Gentileschi broke gender barriers. Her paintings are excellent.

10 to 1 you've never even heard of Artemesia Gentileschi (I hadn't), the female Renaissance painter. Regrettably, after reading Susan Vreeland's novel/biography, you're probably not going to be any more knowledgable.The best historical novels give you a good grasp of both the differences and the similarities of the situations people faced back then. Artemesia's world, however, is more like a Renn faire than the actual Renaissance - a thin veneer of quaint history, overshadowed by an effort to make Artemesia a thoroughly modern, feminist heroine. Unfortunately, this effectively trivializes the struggles she faces as a female artist in a decidedly misogynistic time. After a promising first chapter, in which she is tortured and villainized at the trial of her former teacher and rapist, the omnipresent Church seems to disappear. At one point, Artemesia even blithely asserts that she sees the Bible merely as a source of good stories, a view that I would think any reasonably sensible Renaissance woman, much less one who's already found herself on the wrong side of the Inquisition, would be a little more discreet about disclosing. Her truly monumental achievement, becoming the first woman admitted to the Accademia dell'Arte in Florence, is likewise glossed over and eventually forgotten, as she leaves her husband and moves to Genoa with her young daughter. Meanwhile, the few tantalizing hints that are dropped never materialize into anything, like the prospect of an affair with Galileo himself.In fact, Vreeland's story is more about a young working mother obsessed with her career than about art, the Italian Renaissance, or female artists. In trying to make Artemesia a character modern readers can empathize with, she's turned a woman who was surely fascinating and complex into someone whose story we've all heard before.

I visited the exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts that features her art …….how perfect to read this book about her.

Perhaps because I am an artist, a woman and lived in Florence, Italy for a number of years, this book resonated on many levels. I named my beautiful red puppy Artemisia Gentileschi aka Mizzy months before reading this gripping novel. Now I'm especially glad I did!

Susan Vreeland researches her subject meticulously, and writes with an empathy for each that allows the reader to understand him/her almost immediately. We have read all of her books about artists and enjoyed each emmensely. That said, both my wife and I love Artemisia and her magnificent paintings. Susan portrays her fully - skills, sensitivities, and flaws - using first person point of view to convey Artemisia’s strength and character. Having seen some of her work, we felt that Artemisia had become a close friend who was sharing her feelings with us. We love her just as we love Susan Vreeland and her wonderful talent.

This is a strong historical novel, one of the best I've ever read: well written, well structured, well researched, and utterly absorbing. Reading, I was totally immersed in the world where this talented, strong, courageous woman lived.In the 17th century, a successful female painter was a rarity, yet she achieved great success, despite the restrictions placed on women. For example, this was a world in which rape victims were tortured to verify their testimony, a fate Artemisia had to endure, so that her father could claim monetary compensation for the loss of her virginity. We experience Artemisia's marriage (arranged to salvage her sullied reputation and her attempts to make this marriage work), her motherhood, her friendship with Galileo Galilei, how she selected models, how she interacted with the Medicis and other wealthy patrons, how she scrimped to pay for paints when money was tight, her stays in Rome, Florence, Genoa and other cities where she lived.I've learned a lot about the period while reading this book, and I was completely enthralled. I've read this book three times, several years apart, and every time I loved it.

I had never heard of Artemisia Gentileschi before I picked up this book, I bought it because I liked Vreeland's writing in Girl in Hyacinth Blue. In The Passion of Artemisia Vreeland steps up a gear and delivers a tale which contains some of the most wonderful descriptive passages I've ever read. Having finished the book I went and checked out some books with photos of Artemisia's paintings and Judith, Cleopatra and Lucrezia were just as I'd imagined them in the book.Having been a stranger to Artemisia Gentileschi I cannot vouch for how one of her fans will react to this piece of fiction, but I think that anyone who's willing to accept this book as such will fully enjoy it as I have. We suffer with Artemisia through the early part of the tale when she has to testify at the trial against the man who raped her, her father's subsequent betrayal and her rushed marriage with Pierantonio Stiattesi. We get to see Florence through the eyes of a newcomer, the eyes of someone for whom Florence is not just a beautiful city, but the place where dreams come true and her remarkable friendship with Galileo Galilei. We finally get to follow Artemisia's and Palmira's nomadic life, travelling from one city to another in search of a patron, the excitement of their new life in Genoa, the bittersweet return to Rome and then her final confrontation with her father.This is one of my favourite books of this year and I'm looking forward to reading many more books by Susan Vreeland.

I so enjoyed this book - it is a work of fiction but nevertheless crammed with facts. Artemisia is too little known as a woman artist of the Renaissance and it was good to learn more about her.This secondhand book arrived in very good condition.

Bought after viewing BBC programme. Have yet to read but looks fascinating.An invaluable accompaniment to the upcoming Artemisia Gentileschi at the National Gallery in April 2020.

Grear books...well worth readinf.....