Artemisia

Written in 1947, this novel is based upon the life of one of the greatest female artists of all time, Artemisia Gentileschi. Banti lost her original manuscript during WWII and, haunted by the voice of Artemisia, she transcribed it again from memory and imagination.

First published in 1953, Artemisia immediately established itself as a classic. At the centre of the book is Artemisia Gentileschi, a painter Influenced by Michelangelo and Caravaggio. A rising star in 17th-century Naples, Artemisia realises that success has been bought at too high a price - she has failed as a woman, a wife and a mother. The closer the author, Anna Banti, gets to her subject, the more she is forced to reflect on the condition of women today and on her own life in German-occupied Italy. Anna Banti's Artemisia is an important reflection on art, femininity and the creative experience.