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The Passion of Artemisia

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The Passion of Artemisia

By: Susan Vreeland
Narrated by: Gigi Bermingham
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About this listen

 At age 18, Artemisia Gentileschi finds herself humiliated in papal court for publicly accusing her painting teacher of rape. When even her father does not stand up for her, she realizes that her reputation in Rome is ruined, and she begs to have a marriage arranged for her. Her husband takes her to Florence, where their life together offers the promise of love and family. Artemisia's painting talent blossoms and she becomes the first woman elected to the Accademia dell' Arte. But marriage clashes with her newfound fame, and she begins a lifelong search to reconcile painting and motherhood, passion and genius.

Set against the glorious backdrops of Rome, Florence, and Genoa, and Naples, peopled with historical characters and filled with the details of the life of a 17th-century painter, The Passion of Artemisia is the story of Gentileschi's struggle to find love, forgiveness, and wholeness through her art.

©2002 Susan Vreeland (P)2002 HighBridge Company Biographical Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Biography Marriage Rome

Critic Reviews

"The Passion of Artemisia offers a vivid portrait of a complex female artist who doggedly pursues her passion despite seemingly overwhelming obstacles." (Booklist)
"Vreeland's remarkable ability...makes this novel an accomplished work of art." (San Francisco Chronicle)
All stars
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It’s always tricky reading a novel based loosely on historical events.
I think here the author again successfully creates a captivating story with full of fascinating descriptions of its time and space.
I liked it a lot.

Great story and narration

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A great accompaniment to visiting Florence and Genoa, bringing that time to life and trying to imagine who Artemesia was and how she saw the world.

Lovely imagining of Artemesia’s perspective

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Not only does it have very little to do with Artemisia's actual life, it is also just poorly written. very little substance and even as light fiction it's just subpar.

NOT a biography

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