Book Reviews: I Know What I am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi / Sicilio AND Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

Artemisia Gentileschi was an artist who lived in the late 1500s and early 1600s. 
And these two novels about her life offer some two very possibilities for her mental reality.

If you are going to read both, try the Sicilio book first. This is a graphic novel which is FULL of contextual detail. It shares the contextual and historical background for Artemisia and her art. This isn't an easy book to read in any any. There are a lot of characters in this book to keep track of, a lot of context that sets the stage for what she went through - it is DENSE with historical information. But beyond that - this book is full of betrayal, abuse, rape, dishonesty... AND persistence, feminism, overcoming. I loved this book because it provided the context to better understand the world Artemisia lived in. I loved this book because many of the messages are universal to humankind - bigger than a time and place in the world. 

Once you have finished the  Sicilio book, try the McCullough. After having build the context of Artemisia's life, this different mind-set perspective (offered in a novel in verse) will offer another possibility for Artemisia's viewpoint of her own life, and how she overcame the hurdles she encountered.

In any case, this is a book about art but also about feminism and about #MeToo. Note that there are a lot of triggers in this book: rape, lecherous men, and living with a shaky foundation. 

Enjoy these books, look up the art - check out Artemisia's art as well as that of her contemporaries. Enjoy and learn.