Drama | Season Trends
“And Artemisia fiercely committed to do a great work in Judith slaying, or rather slaughtering Holofernes […] Who could think in fact that over such a well made full size sheet, of whiteness and icy shadows worthy of a Vermeer, a so brutal and terrible massacre could happen […] but – it’s natural to say – this is a terrible woman! A woman painted all this? […] there’s nothing sadistic here, instead what strikes the most is the impassibility of the painter who was even able to notice how the blood, spurting with violence, can surround with two flying edges of drips the central spurt! Incredible I tell you! […] Lastly, don’t you think that Judith’s only movement is moving away to avoid the blood which could stain her brand new yellow silk dress? We think anyway that that was a dress of Casa Gentileschi, the finest wardrobe of silk garments in the Europe during 1600, after Van Dyck.”
Roberto Longhi, from ‘Caravaggio e Artemisia: la sfida di Giuditta’, AA.VV., Officina Libraria, 2021.
A liquid, bloody red is the recurring theme of this powerful tale. Baroque paintings alternate with shadowy or hyper-realistic images, eviscerating human nature from the depths with its gushing passions, as in Caravaggio’s paintings. Uncontrollable, bestial instincts spring up, giving rise to ruthless, sometimes heinous acts. A direct and brutal vision of reality puts strong characters at the centre, whose souls seem to cry out for revenge, scream out their anguish for an adverse life. The dramatic mood is heightened by dark backgrounds, the eye is drawn to the naked flesh, to details of the skin and anatomy of the protagonists. Men and women feature intense expressions, assuming poses that are at times natural, at others emphatic and theatrical. Still lifes, disturbed by ravenous insects, show signs of rot and decay. Slaughtered or eviscerated animal artworks seem to stare accusatorily at us. Splashes, shreds, pulp, clots, emerge from dark backgrounds or white draperies. Bold chiaroscuro and flashes of violent light break through representations of crude realism. An impeccable aesthetic balance dominates every scene, increasing its power even more.
Research: Sakina Bezzaz for Autumn/Winter 2024.25 season.
