Turning the tables on male violence - a lesson from a lady

 I took a day trip to Genoa yesterday, to have a mooch around and see an exhibition on Artemisia Gentileschi and other female painters. I was blown away by it. And by the lesson to be learnt.

Genoa (or Genova) is the Mediterranean port that used to be capital of a powerful little maritime trading empire hundreds of years ago and its rich past is seen everywhere. My previous posts on Genoese culture include the origins of jeans and local trans life in the 1960s. 

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656) was the first woman to be admitted to the academy of Florence, and the other painters on display like Sofonisba Anguissola, Rosalba Carriera, Elisabetta Sirani, etc. had similar accolades. Prior to that, female painters were usually nuns working in churches, so this was a new era in which an independent professional woman could make her own career.

The paintings were stunning and the curators had done a grand job.

The formative moment in her life was being raped at knifepoint by her father’s associate. She was able to secure his conviction and imprisonment. Ever after, her main theme was the determined woman getting the better of leering, strong or powerful men: Judith cutting off Holofernes’ head is a favourite subject; Cleopatra choosing suicide by snake rather than falling into the hands of the Romans; Delilah giving Samson a buzzcut; and Susanna and the Elders who want their wicked way with her as she bathes. This is likely a nude self-portrait, a bold statement of her feelings on this matter. 

Attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, c. 1610

 

Fearing the violence of men is a constant concern for women. I too have taken the longer but better lit route home at night rather than increase the risk of attack, or crossed the street to avoid groups of men, even in a safe city like London. Bringing rapists to justice remains very difficult. Artemisia's testimony was subject to the most rigorous testing, by judicial torture. Even so, she did not back down on her story, and that gained the confidence of the court. We do not resort to such horrible practices today but securing convictions for such crimes remains hard. The world is seeing an upsurge of male aggression, bullying, war and violence, tapped into by some very unscrupulous politicians, and women are bearing more of the brunt of that, not to mention the reduction of the rights of the LGBT+ community. More on that another day. 

This woman turned the cruelty in her life to good effect, creating formidable paintings that inspired a whole movement in the art of the era that depicted strong women, by contrast to all too prevalent male notions of women being the weaker sex.

More of Genoa

It was quite a grey day for the most part, with stormy seas, so I wasn't able to get the best photos, but a few odd bits and pieces include this jolly lion guarding the steps of the cathedral:

 

wheels of cheese in this shop window (I think that customer buys a lot of cheese!):

 

and this beautifully painted building on the dockside with a centrepiece of St George slaying the dragon:

I couldn't get a better shot because, as in so many places in the world, a major road passes right in front of it on an elevated section, which you can see a bit of in the top left corner. Ah, the 1960s, age of free love and flyovers!

Most of the rest of the time I spent enjoying the shops and stalls, took the metro just for the fun of it and strolled through the narrow streets of the old city. A good day out.

Sue x

PS Thanks for your patience with the previous post - sometimes I have to take time out here to deal with thoughts unrelated to trans life.