Artemisia Undaunted

Artemisia Undaunted tells the story of the great Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentilischi who was the first woman in history to fight against the male bastions of the art world and earn her living as a successful painter. An inspiring story about a talented young artist who overcame the stigma of an early rape to become one of the great painters in an age of incomparable Italian art.

Artemisia Gentilsechi is the queen of Baroque Painting, the darling of feminist art historians, the subject of at least three best sellers, and one highly criticised movie. But what most people remember of Artemisia’s life and what they see in her art is her rape at the age of 17 by a painter and friend of her father’s. But did this cruel attack and the subsequent betrayal really lead Artemisia to act out some form of revenge in her painting? Who was the real Artemisia? A victim who relived a horrible event over and over again? A succubus who projected her revenge fantasies on her canvases? Or was she an extraordinary artist who triumphed in an era dominated by supremely talented men such as Caravaggio and Rubens?

In this programme, the first ever documentary portrait of Artemisia Gentileschi, leading art historians and writers reveal how through sheer talent and will power, she pulled herself up out of dire circumstances to become the first woman to make a living from painting.