Her story is shocking – and speaks to millions.
Even though it’s 400 years old.
She was taught to paint by her father, a follower of Caravaggio.
She survived a famous rape trial at 17 years old and went on to become a successful artist, unheard of for a woman in Italy in the 1600s.
Her painting, “Venus and Cupid,” hangs in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
And this Friday, June 17, Gentileschi’s story will be told in a new way with the screening of “a woman like that…,” a powerful documentary that weaves the story of the infamous artist with the filmmaker who became obsessed with telling her story.
Filmmaker Ellen Weissbrod first became intrigued with Artemisia Gentileschi when she read a review of a book about the artist 20 years ago.
“It sounded like such an amazing story,” Weissbrod says. “I couldn’t believe I’d never heard of this woman and her amazing life.”
Weissbrod decided she wanted to make a feature film about Gentileschi. She wrote a script and showed it around, “but everybody laughed at me,” she says. “No one was interested in the story of a 17th century painter who died 400 years ago.”
The filmmaker, who had been working in reality TV and documentaries, decided to make a documentary instead.
She started with a retrospective of Artemisia Gentileschi and her father that was about to be exhibited at the St. Louis Art Museum. Weissbrod got in touch with the curator Judith Mann, who she says was incredibly helpful and helped her get many necessary permissions.
Weissbrod was just about to head to St. Louis to film the exhibition opening, but she says Mann called her at the last minute to say that she couldn’t film the opening.
“We never found out why,” Weissbrod says. But she flew to St. Louis, strapped a camera onto herself and filmed the opening – in cognito – anyway. A rebellious act that launched the filmmaker on a journey to finish the film and tell Artemisia’s story.
Telling the story of a 400-year-old painter isn’t easy.
The film blends many stories and voices together. Weissbrod interviewed women (and men) as they came out a Gentileschi show to get first-hand reactions to Gentileschi’s art .
She traveled to Italy where Alexandra Lapierre, author of the bestseller “Artemisia,” walked the filmmaker through the artist’s Roman neighborhood. She met with Gentileschi collectors. And got fans to re-enact many of Artemsia’s paintings, to show how the artist “changed the frame” – recasting her paintings from a feminine perspective – and portraying women as heroes, instead of mere bystanders.
Producer Melissa Powell says, "Documentaries can do things that narrative films can't do. It made it a more contemporary story -- blending Ellen's and Artemisia's stories together made it come alive. Artemisia lived an incredibly modern life and that speaks to a lot of people."
But Weissbrod isn’t the only one who’s been moved by Gentileschi's life and art.
Trent Nicholas at the VMFA says that Gentileschi’s “Venus and Cupid” is a favorite on museum tours. He says that people fall in love with the artist’s story and the painting as well – for its vivid colors and striking style. He's even heard a viewer exclaim "Awesome!" once. The painting was acquired in 2001 and is shown year-round in the European Galleries.
In the end, it took Weissbrod seven years to complete the documentary on Gentileschi's extraordinary life. Her film “a woman like that” was released last year and has been shown at museums and colleges across the country.
This Friday, June 17, “a woman like that” comes to the VMFA for a special screening, followed by a Q & A with Ellen Weissbrod and producer Melissa Powell.
Judith Mann, the curator from the St. Louis Art Museum, will also be on hand to talk about Artemisia Gentileschi’s life and art.
“We’ve never met,” Weissbrod says. “We’re really looking forward to it. Maybe we’ll finally find out [why we weren’t allowed to film in St. Louis].”
While you’re there, be sure to check out Gentileschi’s painting. You might find yourself as hooked as Weissbrod did.
“I know it seems crazy to become so committed to someone who died 400 years ago, but I did,” Weissbrod says. “And I’m moved by her still.”
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