When #MeToo meets Baroque painting
Artemisia Gentileschi survived violence at the hands of men to become a star of the 17th-century art world. Four hundred years on, her paintings resonate more than ever
By Tim Smith-Laing
In 1612 a court in Rome heard the testimony of Artemisia Gentileschi, a 19-year-old, in a case against a well-connected artist called Agostino Tassi. Tassi was her art tutor and her probable future husband. He was supposed to teach her about the Roman art world. Instead, he raped her. Though the court decided he was guilty, his influential patrons saw to it that he never suffered any consequences.
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