Blood, Water, Paint, by Joy Mccullough.  I picked up this book because it was about Artemesia Gentileschi & I thought I’d be re-reading a book that I read a decade ago about her.  No, that book,The Passion of Artemesia, by Susan Vreeland, had a different span and scope.

Blood, Water, Paint covers Artemesia’s late adolescence shortly after the death of her mother.  Artemesia’s lonely, in a house full of boys and men, and her only real engagement is with the paintings that she does under her father’s name. As the book progresses, she is raped by an artist, and wishes him to be punished. In 17th Century Italy, however, it is mainly she that is punished. The book is a quick read about the injustices and lonelinesses of adolescence. One leaves the book wondering if art will save Artemesia.

The Vreeland book follows Artemesia throughout her life and provides different perspectives on her relationships with her family, and the art world of the 17th Century, and the legacy of her rape throughout her life. I think I’ll read it again.

In the meantime, should you visit Mexico City Soumaya Museum, you’ll find 3 canvasses of Artemesia’s.  She is definitely looking to the heavens for answers.