Nov. 2: Documentary 'A Woman Like That'
Film on the life of Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi to be shown
3:03 p.m., Oct. 17, 2011--A Woman Like That, a compelling and unconventional film about the life of the provocative 17th century Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi, and about the efforts of contemporary documentary filmmaker Ellen Weissbrod to create the work, will be shown at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 2, in 104 Gore Hall.
Weissbrod will be on hand and following the showing of the film, she will have a conversation with the audience and there will be a question and answer period.
Events Stories
June 5: Blue Hen 5K
June 6-9: Food and culture series
The UD showing is sponsored by the departments of Art History, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Art Conservation, Art, Women's Studies and English, and the Material Culture Studies program.
For more information about the event contact Linda Magner via email at lmagner@art-sci.udel.edu.
About the film
The film merges Weissbrod's own coming of middle-age story with her pursuit of the truths behind the legends of Gentileschi’s meaningful art and dramatic life. Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first female artists to achieve recognition in her own time, and she was taught to paint by her father Orazio, a renowned follower of Caravaggio.
Her life story includes a famous rape trial when she was 17 years old, friendship and support from Galileo and the Medici, and -- most striking for her time -- a career as a working, professional artist.
More remarkable than her biography is the art itself, as Gentileschi “changed the frame.” She told stories of women as heroes, from history, mythology and the Bible. Best-selling novels, popular plays and one highly protested French film have been made about the artist, whose work is held in museums and private collections worldwide.
A Woman Like That is the first personal documentary directed by Weissbrod, who has been working in film for close to 30 years. In 2002, Weissbrod was at a career crossroads, mired in directing empty reality television. Fascinated by the artist's story, Weissbrod determined to take a risk and make her own work but was mysteriously denied permission to film the once-in-a-lifetime retrospective of Gentileschi and her father at the St. Louis Art Museum. Undeterred, she donned a spy camera and went "undercover," secretly filming the exhibition. This bold act set her on a five-year journey, as she traveled to Italy, where curators and collectors opened their museums and homes.
Alexandra Lapierre, author of the bestseller Artemisia, walked Weissbrod through the artist's Roman neighborhood. Weissbrod examined the 400-year-old rape trial transcripts in the Rome State Archive, before it was locked away for repair, and she followed Gentileschi's trail from Florence to Naples, talking about the paintings with distinguished scholars and passionate fans. Weissbrod gathered a diverse collection of the artist's admirers, who act out the paintings, read her letters and recount her influence in their own lives.
Weissbrod’s directing debut was the Warner Brothers feature documentary, Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones. She has directed many documentary portraits, including the acclaimed Face To Face about conjoined twins Lori and Reba Schappell, and was nominated for an Emmy for It Just Takes One with Savion Glover.
Previous sold-out screenings include the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers University, the Davis Cinema at Wellesley College, the Portland Art Museum, the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rosendale Theatre in Rosendale, N.Y., the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. The DVD release is scheduled for 2012.