400 Year Old Artist's Dark Revenge

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

History Hit

History, Folklore, Society & Culture, Myths, Ghosts, True Crime, Murder, Mystery, Ufos, Paranormal, Supernatural, Serial Killers

4.7 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Artemisia Gentileschi's paintings personify female rage against men. She paints women beheading men, hammering nails into their skulls, brandishing their dead faces. In her personal life, Artemisia was the victim of sexual abuse, torture and public shaming. Can we read her traumatic personal life into her work?

Edited by Anna Brant and Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Rome, 14th of May 1612. The courtroom is stifling, thick with whispers and the rustle of
0:13.9	onlookers leaning in. At its centre stands Artemisia Gentilesi, her gaze fixed, her breath measured.
0:23.9	The judge's questions slice through the air, clinical, relentless, yet she does not look away.
0:31.9	Months of scrutiny, fear and public judgment press hard against her, but she lifts her chin and steadies her voice.
0:41.8	The cords twisted around her fingers tighten, supposedly testing her resolve, drawing pain to the
0:48.7	surface. Still, she refuses to waver. In this moment of brutal tension,
0:56.2	Artemisia is not only fighting for justice.
0:59.7	She is shaping the legacy that will blaze through her art for centuries.
1:19.8	The revolutionary Baroque painter Artemisia Gentilesi's personal life was marred with trauma and violence,
1:26.2	and she channeled this suffering into explicit art. In the years following her death,
1:37.3	attempts were made to diminish her legacy, with several of her paintings misattributed to men, yet her voice and her artistry refused to disappear.
1:47.0	Gendalessie's story is a testament to survival and the power of a woman whose work could not be erased despite society's best efforts.
2:23.2	Welcome to After Dark, I'm Mad Maddie and you might notice that Anthony's not here.
2:29.4	Now, this episode is coming to you during my maternity leave. So picture me. I'm probably covered in vomit. I'm changing some nappies. I'm probably crying at 3am while you're listening to this, very relaxed. So do enjoy this. Anthony's having the day off. He's doing a stellar job
2:37.9	without me, but I thought I'd give him a break. We are going to be discussing a topic and an artist
2:43.4	I have wanted to talk about on this podcast for so long. Today, we'll be exploring the extraordinary
2:49.1	life and legacy of Artemisia Gentilessi.
2:52.1	Born into a world that denied women artistic and bodily agency,
2:55.6	Artemisia carved a space for herself through sheer talent and relentless determination.
3:00.8	Her paintings, which depict complex women, let's say, resonate centuries later.
3:06.9	From her early masterpieces to her hard-won recognition,
3:10.1	Artemisia's story is one of resilience, vision, and the transformative force of art. Now,
	...

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