Ceri Louise Reads

Received from Love Book Tours and the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Deets:

Author: Alan Gold

Publisher: Romaunce Books

Release date: 22 September 2023

Rating: 4⭐️

The Synopsis:

In 1641, Artemisia Gentileschi begins writing the story of her life – her childhood, her developing ability as a painter, and the restrictions placed on her by the society at the time. She recounts how her life was changed when she was assaulted by her father’s friend, another painted called Agostino Tassi, and how it impacted her painting.

Centuries later, retired geologist and art enthusiast David Cabot comes across a strange painting in the back room of a Sydney gallery. On learning it is possibly by Artemisia, David sets out on a journey around Italy to find out more about her and her work.

Content warnings: rape/sexual assault, torture, violence, misogyny

The Review:

I first came across Artemisia Gentileschi’s art a few years ago, so when I saw she was the subject of this novel I just knew I had to read it and it did not disappoint! Gold captured her voice so well, I was really drawn into her story. While I enjoyed the dual timeline aspect of this novel, I was definitely engaged by Artemisia’s chapters more, to discover more of her world, her art, and her fight against the patriarchy.

I found David didn’t hold my attention in the same way as a protagonist, and his chapters didn’t go the way I expected – I thought there would be more about the painting he found. But it was great to discover more about Artemisia along with him. My only slight criticism is that in places some of the explanations/information became a little repetitive, but that did not impair my enjoyment of the book.

If you want to learn more about an awesome and largely forgotten female artist, this book is a great place to start. If you want some non-fiction alongside to learn more about other forgotten female artists, you could check out Women in the Picture by Catherine McCormack, which I reviewed back in my YouTube days, although I can’t remember if Artemisia is mentioned. She is definitely featured in a new book I just bought which I am super excited to read, called The Story of Art (Without Men) by Katy Hessel.

There’s also a volume in the Forgotten Women series, by Zing Tsjeng, on artists. I haven’t read that one yet, but I did very much enjoy The Scientists and The Leaders from that series, which I also reviewed.

So have you come across Artemisia Gentileschi’s work before? Is this a book you think you might pick up? What female artist do you think more people should know about?