Artemisia. Héroine of Art

The discipline known as the "history of the history of art" will perhaps focus on the growing prominence of women artists in the 21st century and more particularly in the 2020s. It will then be necessary to analyse the point of view adopted by the exhibitions devoted to them, which is often revealing of the concerns of our era, which wishes to see them as ambassadors of "proto-feminism".
Considered to be the great forgotten women of history, these artists - or should we say artistesses? - are now taking centre stage in museums, both in permanent collections (see the article) and in temporary exhibitions, in order to redress the imbalance. Imbalance, because we want to give women a place they have never occupied: it is a fact, regrettable though it may be, that for centuries there were far fewer women than men who (were able to) choose the artistic path. An imbalance, because they are favoured to the detriment of unknown painters and sculptors, of whom there are a plethora and who deserve just as much recognition. While this desire to favour women is perhaps a necessary step in establishing them in the cultural landscape, care should be taken not to accompany it with an anachronistic discourse (see the article).

1. Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-c. 1656)
Self-portrait as a Lute Player, 1614-1615
Oil on canvas - 77.5 x 71.8 cm
Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Photo: Allen Phillips/Wadsworth Atheneum

See the image in its page

This phenomenon of valorisation is clearly evident in Paris in the spring of 2025: Suzanne Valadon is in the spotlight at the Centre Pompidou, Artemisia Gentileschi at the Jacquemart-André Museum and Gabriele Münter at the Museum of Modern Art [1]...
As Artemisia Gentileschi had already been the subject of a monographic exhibition in 2012 (see the article), the one devoted to her by the Jacquemart-André Museum did not seem essential (ill. 1). All the less so as she was not the only one to make her mark on the art…