Three Graces after Rubens, 2002

Courtesy of Sherrie Wolf and Margo Jacobsen Gallery, Portland, Oregon.

Selected notes from "The Artemisia Suite," a talk by Sherri Wolf given December 7, 2002.

Artemisia Gentileschi was born in Rome in 1593, the daughter of painter Orazio Gentileschi, from whom she received her artistic training. Artemisia was unusual for painting "mainstream" mythological and biblical themes, focusing on subjects whose protagonist were female, such as Judith, Cleopatra, Lucrecia and Susanna--perhaps capitalizing on her access to nude female models. Historically well-documented court hearings relate that Artemisia was allegedly raped at 19 by Agostino Tassi (whom she was apprenticed to) and was tortured during the legal proceedings, perhaps contributing to the intensity with which she depicted the Story of Judith and her Maid Servant with the Head of Holofernes, after Judith decapitated him to save the Israelites. Some historians have called this pictorial 'revenge' for her sufferings. After the trial, she went on to have a quite successful career as a painter with many commissions to her credit. This series of etchings is a tribute to her life.

I use my own photography from still life setups in the studio, to develop the key plate in a process called photogravure, which achieves beautifully modulated aquatints in fine detail. I then precede to hand paint two more plates in overlaid colors to coordinate with the key plate achieving seven-color prints. I also do some digital manipulation on the film positives to enhance value relationships.

Illusions of the 3rd dimension are quite magical. I use trompe l'oil effects to "fool the eye", and enjoy the illusion of surface reflection. The etching medium has the rich graphic qualities essential to achieve spatial illusion. In this series I decided to go more directly to my source photography, to achieve a less linear approach, with aquatint and simplified color relationships. I like this softer approach, as compared to my earlier prints. I think this is consistent with my goals in painting.