And this is a true story: Bustle has a brilliant article on the real-life Artemisia, and how author Joy McCullough discovered her thanks to Margaret Atwood. It may not be a justice that suits the crime – sound familiar? – but she accomplishes what most women of the time would never be able to.

She persists in her artwork, and she persists in bringing her attacker to justice.

Sound familiar? Sound like it could be taken from the news this week? Not much has changed.Īrtemisia persists, and in that persistence, she empowers every person to pick up this book. Artemisia’s relationship with her father is complex: he’s jealous of her talent and berates her, even humiliates her, but when she tells him about her rape and intent to bring Agostino to court, he stands by her – even though he knows, and tells her, that Agostino will not be the one on trial. The very women she paints tell the story: Susanna and her Elders depicts a woman leered at by a group of “respectable” elders the Biblical heroine Judith, who took matters into her own hands when her husband was murdered by foreign invaders. Through Artemisia, we see that women have always had to push back against male society. This is feminist historical fiction at its finest. As she goes through the grueling judicial process, she remembers the stories of strong women, told to her by her deceased mother, and draws on their strength. But when Agostino rapes her, she refuses to play the passive any longer, and brings him to court to keep her honor and reputation intact. Her father hires artist Agostino Tassi to work with Artemisia and refine her talents, and she is at first thrilled to have someone recognize her work on its own merit. At the mercy of her cruel father, Artemesia is her father’s assistant, model, and – all too often – the chief artist on the paintings he signs his name to. Blood Water Paint is a stunning story based on true events, told in quiet, powerful verse.Īrtemisia Gentileschi is the 17-year-old daughter of Renaissance artist Orazio Gentileschi, but her talents far outweigh his. It’s an historical fiction type of review day.

Blood Water Paint, by Joy McCullough, (March 2018, Dutton Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 9780735232112

Blood water paint