It’s True, It’s True, It’s True: The Trail of Artemisia Gentileschi

Videoed play made available by the Barbican on the Trial of the 17th century female artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

Two of the things I have been most sad to miss during this Covid-19 lockdown have been the Artemisia exhibition at the National Gallery, which is hopefully being rescheduled, and this play which I was due to see at the Barbican. I’ve been an admirer of Artemisia’s work since reading a novel about her and of course seeing her work. I think her self-portrait in the Royal Collection is one of my favourite pictures. I was therefore delighted when an email popped up telling me about this videoed version of the play.

Produced by Breach Theatre iot is largely based on the transcript of the trial of Agostino Tassi for breach of promise to marry Artemisia in the course of which she accuses him of rape. At its heart it is a classically, hopefully old fashioned, bad rape trail with witnesses brought to her bad character and the defendant allowed to cross examine her. It is still a visceral experience to watch it. I loved the recreation of two of her pictures which pertained to the trail and her descriptions of why her versions of common subjects have been painted differently because she is a woman.

For most of the play all the roles were taken by three female actors with a fourth appearing for the final tableaux and song. The performances were stunning and particularly with the actress playing Agostino who gave him all the arrogance and swagger of an overconfident man. I wasn’t so convinced of the song at the end but I’m not sure how else it could have been rounded off and I suspect that would have worked better live.

Online until 30 April 2020

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Becket: Murder and Making of a Saint

Image
Stunning exhibition at the British Museum on the life and afterlife of Thomas Becket. I studied Becket both at A Level and at university so I was really looking forward to this show and it did not disappoint. From walking in to see an old friend, the early Limoges casket showing the murder from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I was gripped. The show told the story well using fantastic objects and led you through his life, the murder, the political aftermath, his sainthood and miracles, and how Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site. It is hard to pick out the best objects as so many were wonderful. I loved that they had early copies of some of the five eyewitness accounts of the murder which made you fell you were almost touching the event. I liked the manuscript on his time in exile which was almost like a comic strip. How wonderful to get a 13th century font from Sweden which shows how far and how quickly the news that Henry II had integrated the murder spread. I think my
Read more

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Exhibition 2019

Image
Delightful exhibition at Clarendon Fine Art showing pictures from the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year TV series. I had loved the series which had set nine artists, both professional and amateur, to paint one of three celebrities. It then had a semi-final and final with them all looking at one sitter and in the final they also took on a commission. I loved the way you watched a picture build and how some were then made or spoiled by one stroke of paint.   Finding these pictures I knew so well in the flesh was therefore fascinating. None of them disappointed. My favourite artist from the final, Tom Mead, works looked just as good in real life if not better as you could see the detail. The show included his impressive self-portrait which he submitted to enter the competition, a wonderful fragmented picture of his reflection in a mirror giving a sense of movement. I loved that it included a large version of him and a miniature. His commission for the final of Jazzie B was
Read more

The Renaissance Nude

Image
Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the nude in Renaissance art. The show was gently themed but mainly let the pictures speak for themselves. It began by looking at the subjects, both religious and secular, which include nude figures then examined techniques and models used in these works, finishing by looking at more personal pictures. This is a period I’ve studied a lot so there were a lot of old friends and it was quite fun predicting what might appear. There were a few surprises too such as the rather surprising drawing of the Ecstatic Christ. I liked the fact the show included lots of different art forms not just paintings including sculpture, etchings, drawings and illuminated manuscripts. There were some fascinating hangs to draw comparisons particularly two sets of pictures by Giovanni Bellini and Hand Memling from almost exactly the same date. These were shown back to back in a display cabinet down the middle of one room. My favourite work was
Read more