Violence and Virtue

         A few weeks ago I went to the Art Institute of Chicago with my Intro to Art class. While we were there we had to draw two pieces that caught our attention. One of the galleries that caught my eye was "Violence and Virtue", in this gallery the works of Artemisia Gentileschi were being shown. This specific gallery was interesting to me because of the word "Violence." I have always been interested in violence and its different ways. By this I mean that violence can be something common and sometimes disturbing like domestic abuse or it can be something with a deeper meaning like it is in Gentileschis' paintings. Her most famous painting named "Judith Slaying Holofernes" was the one that caught my attention the most; in the painting we can see Judith cutting Holofernes' head with a sword and she is being helped by one of her maids. Some may find this disturbing but I find this kind of violence amusing and beautiful. For example, Judith was slaying Holofernes as a revenge for the rape; this is some kind of victory over her rapist which I find interesting. Some of the scenes in her paintings are brutal  and that is what makes them great. Another kind of violence is sacrifices to the gods, for example. If we analyze the glory and honor most of these tributes felt when they were being sacrificed is amazing. Violence in films has always been a controversial topic because one cannot deny that violence keeps a viewer's attention but still violence goes against what is ethical and normal. Hence, the question is, should we go for the "ethical" side and not show violence, or should we express our vision of art and violence, which might bring more viewers?

This is my sketch of her painting!