Artists -- no matter what their medium -- are usually quite passionate about their work and life in general. If one is to learn anything from Agnes Merlet's mostly imagined account of famed Renaissance painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, it's that she was a very passionate young woman living in a very passionate time. Featuring enough sex and nudity to nearly quality as a soft core porn film -- if not for the film's own redeeming artistic qualities -- it's surprising that these artists had any time to paint. (The film had initially received an NC-17 rating until lead actress Valentina Cervi appealed to the MPAA board herself -- evidently her plea was also very passionate).
In fact, the film focuses nearly as much attention on these "extracurricular" activities as it does on Artemisia -- the first women in history to be commissioned as an artist -- pursuing her craft. We never really learn much about what drove the real life woman to draw and paint-- other than her instinctual God given gift -- and the film most likely would have benefitted from such insights.
For a film about a painter, it's somewhat surprising that we don't see more of her paintings. We briefly see her famous "Judith Beheading Holofemis" -- a painting of two women beheading a man on a bed that reportedly inspired director Merlet to make this film -- but we never learn anything about what inspired her to paint it. Instead, we're left to guess at that on our own and what we come up with is that she was upset about living in a male dominated world.
That's really what this film is about. Artemisia must first contend with not being able to see or paint nude male models (as can every other artist) and her inability to be accepted into art school based on her gender. Finally, she must suffer through a humiliating court trial that essentially ruins her life and brands her a "loose" woman.
It's that whole last bit -- whether historically accurate or not -- that doesn't work well in the film. Not only does the court trial severely change the tone of the movie, but the entire proceedings feel forced and haphazard. It's as if many important scenes were left on the cutting room floor or were never shot at all. An example is the brief scene where Tassi's sister shows up out of nowhere and drops an informational bombshell during the case. While dramatically effective as it adds a plot complication, its suddenness and brevity don't gel with the rest of the film, and we never learn why Tassi tries to attack her immediately upon seeing her.
Technically, the film looks wonderful, as Merlet ("The Son Of The Shark") has apparently and carefully selected the scene composition and color and lighting schemes to be reminiscent of classic Renaissance paintings. Additionally, there's enough footage of the artists' traditional painting techniques -- ropes holding up models' extended arms, screens used to divide a vast visual subject area into smaller, more manageable units, and scenes of painting church frescoes to satisfy the fellow painters in the audience.
Yet, the film never manages to capture the artists' passions and make us feel that way with them, like the fabulous "Big Night" did for cooking. The film is easy and pleasant enough to watch, but you never get involved and the only reason your pulse might increase is by seeing the many nude bodies or rather explicit sexual encounters.
The performances are good across the board with the standout being Valentina Cervi ("Portrait Of A Lady") as the film's young protagonist. Since the film contains less than the average amount of dialogue found in a typical movie, much has to be expressed by looks and gestures, and Cervi excels at this. Michael Serrault and Miki Manojlovic, as Artemisia's father and lover respectively, also deliver decent performances and seem quite natural in their given roles.
While there is the question of how much artistic liberty Merlet has taken with this story (there are only sketchy historical records from the time), most mainstream audiences will be more interested in, and/or upset by, the film's rampant nudity and its few, but explicit, sexual encounters. Although that may dissuade the average moviegoer from seeing this film, it shouldn't have much impact on the art house crowd who might just be pleased with this sumptuous looking production. We only wish that it went deeper into the passion of painting and drawing and further explored what really drove this woman who became the first true female artist in the world. We give "Artemisia" a 5.5 out of 10.
![[Screen It]](https://www.screenit.com/images/screenit_subscriber_logo.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Around the World in 80 Days]](https://www.screenit.com/images/posters/movies/around_the_world_in_80_days_2022_small.jpg)
![[Family Camp]](https://www.screenit.com/images/posters/movies/family_camp_small.jpg)
![[Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]](https://www.screenit.com/images/posters/movies/doctor_strange_in_the_multiverse_of_madness_small.jpg)