Feminist art historians get Artemisia Gentileschi wrong
Jacob Willer | The Critic | 6th December 2020
Los Angeles’ Getty, which can afford whatever it pleases, has purchased a newly discovered Gentileschi. Gentileschi’s celebrity is so recent that her oeuvre is “a mess”, with attribution of key works still in dispute. Is the ‘frenetic” enthusiasm just because her assertive female protagonists appeal in our #metoo moment? “All this exaggeration … is truly a shame because Artemisia’s talent was real”. The Getty collection now boasts two oil paintings by female artists!