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Tag Archives: Career

A Cautionary Tale

17 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Sharing, Wedding

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

a Cautionary Tale, Career, Health, Instinct, Marriage, McMaster University, Ryerson University, St. FX University

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Photo credit: Etsy

The Wedding

Before our wedding and our idyllic honeymoon at Wickanninish Inn, my future husband and I had to attend a rehearsal for the wedding ceremony. We loved one another, but to a certain extent, I married to please my mother. She would have been very disappointed, had I lived with a man without first marrying him.

As we were driving to a rehearsal of the wedding ceremony, my future husband told me, out of the blue, that there was a condition attached to his marrying me. He said he would leave me if I ever put on weight. I realised that the wedding ceremony would be a comedy and that the marriage would not be valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church. I therefore contemplated cancelling the wedding, but it was late and I was very confused.

Ryerson University

  • downtown Toronto
  • a secure position
  • a secure marriage
  • Canada’s best research environment

A year later, David started to work in Toronto, where I also found a position. I taught French at Ryerson Polytechnical University, in downtown Toronto.[1] I had to teach eighteen hours a week, but I was teaching French as a second language, nothing more, and I could devote the four Spring/Summer months to research. As well, I was in Canada’s best research environment. I worked near the University of Toronto and its research library. 

In other words, I was secure and nothing threatened my marriage and health, except being too thin. However, my husband wanted me to resign. He so insisted that I did resign. I changed my mind during the night, but when I phoned Ryerson, I was told I had already been replaced. I started teaching French as a second language to government of Ontario civil servants.

McMaster University

  • a fragile career
  • a fragile marriage
  • illness

A year later, after he read Open Marriage, my husband asked me to apply for a position at McMaster University, in Hamilton. He would stay in our house and I would rent an apartment in Hamilton. In my eyes, this wasn’t a marriage, but a mere arrangement.

One day, I was asked to see the Chair of my department who told me that the following year, I would teach courses in linguistics: theoretical and foreign-language didactics. I told the Chair that I had never studied linguistics and that preparing the courses might preclude my publishing papers on Molière and related topics. He, the Chair, made it very clear that if I refused to teach linguistics, I would have to leave the university. That is intimidation. I therefore learned and taught linguistics, but, as I feared, my contract was not renewed. I had written a fine article on Molière, but that did not suffice.

My marriage had ended, I no longer had a position, and my health had deteriorated. For the following months, I worked as public relations and admissions’ officer in a college affiliated with the University of Regina. I had to travel throughout the province, which I could not do for long. 

St Francis Xavier University

  • good years
  • too heavy a workload
  • illness

A friend suggested that I apply for a position at St Francis Xavier University, in Nova Scotia. He thought my chances were very good. I applied and moved to a small university town. I was no longer in a good research environment and had to use the interlibrary loan service. But I wrote articles on Molière and linguistics. In the mid 1980’s, I was elected President of the Canadian Association of University and College Teachers of French (APFUCC) and a member of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and served on its Executive.

But I had caught a virus and had lost a great deal of energy, so I was fragile. When a departmental war erupted (they are a common affliction), I fell ill (crippling fatigue) and decided to seek a diagnostic and treatment. A SPECT scan revealed myalgic encephalomyelitis. My neurologist told me that the damage was extensive and that he doubted I could return to work. There was no cure.

I had to earn a living, so I returned to work on a part-time basis. However, a new Chair decided to avenge a colleague whose contract was not renewed and would not allow me to work on a full-time basis. I re-entered the classroom on a full-time basis, when this Chair left the University to accept a position elsewhere. For four years, I was the victim of obstructionism.

The Moral

The moral of this story is complex, but quite obvious. All I will say is, first, that, although it was very late, I should have cancelled the wedding. Second, I will say that when I worked at Ryerson, I could combine a career and a marriage. That never happened again. While studying linguistics, I caught an invisible, but chronic and incurable illness. I managed to keep my position at StFX for several years because my workload was normal. I bought a house across the street from campus to simplify my life. But if my workload grew too heavy and my working environment was vitiated, I was at risk. My workload grew to include the creation of language lab components, and the preparation of courses one of which was a course in an area of knowledge I knew little about: Animals in Literature. These courses were prepared during a sabbatical leave. I could not refuse because I was afraid. I fell ill and extremely vulnerable.

At that point in its history, my university’s policy was to eliminate from its Faculty persons who might fall ill. This is what a vice-president told me, which raises bigger questions that I will not address.

But it would be my opinion that there are times when one should listen to one’s instinct and stay where one is safe and happy. I resigned from a good position without making sure there was a way back to safety. I lost my marriage, harmed my health, and put my career in jeopardy. But I’m a survivor and I’m happy where I am.

PS, I have never put on weight.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • The Miller, his Son, and the Donkey: quite a Tale (16 May 2013)
  • You can’t please everyone: Æsop retold (21 March 2012)
  • Le Chien qui lâche sa proie pour l’ombre (La Fontaine)
  • Etc.

______________________
 [1] Ryerson Polytechnical University was Canada’s MIT. It is now called Ryerson University.

 

Love to everyone 💕

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© Micheline Walker
17 January 2020
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On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi

28 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Italy, Renaissance

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Artemisia Gentileschi, Career, Carravagio, Chiaroscuro, Orazio Gentileschi, Rape and Trial

Self-portrait_as_the_Allegory_of_Painting_(La_Pittura)_-_Artemisia_Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638–9, Royal Collection (the painting may be a self-portrait)

Artemisia Gentileschi (8 July 1593 – c. 1656) was one of the finest painters of her days. She is the second woman associated with the Baroque period we are discussing. In the fine arts, the Baroque era begins in the late 16th century and ends towards the middle of the 17th century. Artemisia is a 17th-century Italian artist.

Artemisia was born in Rome and first apprenticed with her father, Orazio Gentileschi  (1536 – 1639). Orazio moved to France in 1624 at the invitation of Marie de Medici (26 April 1763 -3 July 1642), but left for England two years later, where he remained until his death.

In 1638, Artemisia would join him in England. Orazio died in 1639, but Artemisia did not leave England until she had completed her commissions. “According to her biographer Baldinucci (who appended her life to that of her father), she painted many portraits and quickly surpassed her father’s fame” (Britannica). By 1642, she was back in Italy.  

Influences

  • Orazio Gentileschi
  • Caravaggio
  • the Carracci brothers (Bologna)

There can be no doubt that her father, Orazio Gentileschi, influenced Artemisia, but her paintings are described as naturalistic and were not idealized, in which she differs from her father.

Artemisia and her father were influenced by Caravaggio (29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), the artist who inaugurated chiaroscuro (le clair-obscur) or tenebrism, the use of a dark background. Caravaggio exerted influence on several painters such as Georges de La Tour (13 March 1593 – 13 January 1652), Gerrit van Honthorst (4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) and Trophime Bigot (1579 – 1650). By and large, the word chiaroscuro is now used to describe a technique: light colours on a dark background.

Artemisia was also influenced by the brothers Carracci, by members of the Bolognese school, and by colleagues. She was a history painter who depicted scenes from the Bible and other religious subject matter. Moreover, she was a portraitist.

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Portrait of a Lady Dressed in a Gold Embroidered  Elaborate Costume, (nd) (Courtesy Britannica)

Chiaroscuro

I noted that Lavinia Fontana (24 August 1552 – 11 August 1614), a portraitist mainly, who lived at approximately the same time as Artemisia Gentileschi, used aa dark background. One has the feeling that tenebrism‘s subject matter is carved out of darkness, which is a lovely thought as artists are creators, even in representatial paintings. The painting featured immediately below, young Artemisia’s first painting is not caravaggesque. But it is rather prophetic.

Susanna_and_the_Elders_(1610),_Artemisia_Gentileschi

Susanna and the Elders, 1610 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Rape

  • the impossible Nozze di Riparazione
  • Orazio presses charges
  • the marriage & Florence

In 1611, Artemisia’s father hired artist Agostino Tassi (Perugia, 1578– Rome, 1644), both as an assistant and as teacher to his daughter. Tassi raped Artemisia, but another man, Cosimo Quorli(s), was involved.

At the time of the rape, Orazio rented an upstairs apartment in his house to a woman named Tuzia or Tutio, a chaperone who befriended Artemisia. However, on the day of the rape, the woman let the men into the house and did not respond when Artemisia screamed for help.

After the rape, Artemisia continued to have sexual relations with her rapist. Her continuing to have sexual relations with Tassi may be otherwise explained, but it seems she believed he would marry her, as he promised, thereby restoring her dignity and giving her the future he had taken away. However, foremost in her father’s eyes was restoring Artemisia’s honour. This recourse was not uncommon in Artemisia’s times. In Italy, such a marriage was called nozze di riparazione (a reparation marriage). Tassi reneged on his promise and Orazio pressed charges.

The Trial

  • the trial
  • torture
  • the mariage

During the five-month trial, it was revealed that Tassi was already married, that he planned to kill his wife and that he had entered into an adulterous relationship with his wife’s sister. Tassi was found guilty of rape, but never served a day of his one-year prison sentence. In fact, he was freed. During the trial, Artemisia had to submit to a gynecological examination and was tortured: the thumbscrew, for the purpose of eliciting evidence.

A month after the trial, Orazio married his daughter to Pierantonio Stiattesi. The couple lived in Florence where, in 1618, Artemisia bore Pierantonio a daughter who was named Prudentia, after Artemisia’s mother. Three sons were born to Pierantonio, but Artemisia is reported to have given birth to one daughter and to have lived in Naples in order to be near Prudentia.

800px-Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Giuditta_decapita_Oloferne_-_Google_Art_Project

Judith slawing Holofernes (1614 – 20) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

800px-Gentileschi_judith1

Judith and her Maidservant (1613 – 14) (Photocredit: Wikipedia)

Artemisia Gentileschi’s Career

  • Florence
  • Rome & Venice
  • Naples & London

In Florence, Artemisia was associated with the Medici court and enjoyed great success. She painted an Allegory of Inclination (Allegoria dell’Inclinazione) (c. 1616) commissioned by Michelangelo Buonaratti the Younger, Michelangelo’s grandnephew, “for the series of frescoes honouring the life of Michelangelo in the Casa Buonarotti.” (Britannica). In 1616, she joined Florence’s Academy of Design (Accademia di Arte del Disegno) and was the first woman to do so. In short, “[w]hile in Florence she began to develop her own distinctive style” (Britannica).

Artemisia ran into debts because she and her husband were allowed to buy art material on credit. Pierantonio bought more than could be repaid. Creditors were at the door, so to speak. In 1621, she decided to eave for Rome, which her marriage.

Artemisia’s (1593 – 1653/6) career can be divided as follows, i.e. by naming localities:

  1. She was in Florence (1614 – 1620),
  2. in Rome and Venice (1621–1630), and
  3. in Naples and England (1630–1653).

Death

Very little is known concerning Artemisia Gentileschi’s final years and her death, but she may have been a victim of the 1656 outbreak of the plague that decimated Naples’ artistic community.

—ooo—

Artemisia Gentileschi lost her mother at the age of 12 and it appears she was not taught to read or write. Yet, in Florence (1614 -1620), she befriended Galileo Galilei, with whom she corresponded, in letters, for many years. (See Artemisia Gentileschi, Wikipedia)

Where did she find the courage to marry Pierantonio Stiattesi, to bear him at least one child, and to give birth after a violent rape? We know that she settled in Naples to be near her daughter. She was a good mother.

Works

Judith beheading Holofernes is Artemisia’s most notorious painting. Her treatment of Judith and Holofernes, a familiar subject matter to artists, is one of the most violent and bloody to have come down to us. Artemisia produced a second Judith slaying Holofernes. But she nevertheless painted other scenes from the Bible and various religious scenes, as did her contemporaries, and she was a fine portraitist. Germaine Greer[2] points to the strength of the women she depicted: strong hands, strong bodies, flesh.

Artemisia produced paintings about Bathsheba and David. According to Britannica, Bathsheba was raped and became pregnant. Her husband, a soldier, refused to make believe he was the child’s father. David had him killed and married Bathsheba. King David is Solomon’s father. Artemisia retold rape and violence, albeit subconsciously.

Conclusion

Could it be Artemisia Gentileschi never looked upon her circumstances as potentially paralyzing and that it never occurred to her that she lived in a man’s world? The image below, considered a self-portrait, shows a strong woman playing the lute. The following image is a serene portrait of St Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians whose feast day is celebrated on 22 November. Her paintings of the slaying of Holofernes are gruesome (the first one in particular) and may well reflect her experience.

Yet, although her artwork depics strong women, Artemisia drew much of her subject matter, including the slaving of Holofernes, from sources used by artists of her life and times. She did not live in seclusion, but belonged to a community of artists who may have influenced her and vice versa. Moreover, she had to make a living.

There is a lore of Artemisia Gentileschi listed in her Wikipedia entry (see Artemisia Gentileschi). Her rape is likely to attract the attention of artists, novelists and filmakers, but she was not entirely defined by her rape and the trial that ensued. Artemisia Gentileschi is the woman who corresponded with no less than Galielo Galilei, but first and foremost, she is artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

As mentioned at the top of this post Artemisia Gentileschi had female colleagues. I have discussed portraitist Lavinia Fontana  (24 August 1552 – 11 August, 1614), excluding the many little dogs featured in her paintings, but Sofonisba Anguissola (1532 – November 1625) was also a female colleague. I will discuss Sofonisba. Artemisia Gentileschi is Germaine Greer’s “Magnificent Exception,” which does not underrate her female colleagues’ art.

With kind regards to everyone. ♥

Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Self-Portrait_as_a_Lute_Player

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player (1615-17) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

800px-Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_St_Cecilia_Playing_a_Lute_-_WGA08561

St Cecilia Playing a Lute (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


RELATED ARTICLES

  • On Artist Sofonisba Anguissola (4 March 2016)
  • On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi (28 February 2016)
  • On Artist Lavinia Fontana (17 February 2016)

 

Sources and Resources

  • Artemisia Gentileschi, Wikipedia
  • the Encyclopædia Britannica
  • Germaine Greer

____________________

[1] “Artemisia Gentileschi”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 27 févr.. 2016
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/Artemisia-Gentileschi>.

[2] Germaine Greer, “The Magnificent Exception,” The Obstacle Race: the Fortunes of Women Painters and their Work (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979), pp. 189 – 207.

 

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© Micheline Walker
28 February 2016
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