When I was in college, I used to read a lot of poetry. Being an English major, it was part and parcel of the experience. Wordsworth, Angelou, Frost and other incredible authors occupied a lot of my time.
These days, I don't read nearly as much poetry, so a longer book in verse was a little intimidating to me. But "Blood, Water, Paint" by Joy McCullough really delivered with its poignancy and incisive language.
Artemisia's mother died when she was on the cusp of adolescence. Her father gave her two choices: be shipped off to a convent to become a nun or mix paints for her father's craft.
Artemisia chose paint.
Being a young woman in Rome in 1610 was no easy life. With several brothers with no talent, a lazy father and no mother, Artemisia spends her life grinding pigments and finding joy by painting in her father's studio. And if her father passes her paintings off as his own, Artemisia can do little to stop him.
But when it is suggested she become the apprentice of young, dashing Agostino Tassi, Artemisia finds she doesn't mind being the quiet, demure young woman her father wanted her to be. She could be a painter, a true artist. But the city of Rome is known to take what it wants from women, and Artemisia finds that Tassi is no different.
Now, she is faced with another decision that will change the course of her life: Speak out or be silent.
This book is based on the true story of Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian Baroque painter considered one of the most accomplished following Caravaggio. She is most well-known for her paintings of strong women from myths and the Bible, and for her talent and skill with color as well as depth.
Her work was overshadowed in her lifetime due to her participation in the prosecution of her rapist, Agostino Tassi, but she is now recognized as one of the most progressive painters of her generation. Her story, told by a very talented McCullough, moved me very deeply with its poignancy, incisive language and willingness to shine light in dark corners.
I highly recommend this beautiful story about a strong woman facing an ugly world to anyone who wants their voice to be louder than the silence.
Megan Mehmert is a programming associate at the Missouri River Regional Library.