
 
 
 Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Pittsburgh
 

 Artemisia Gentileschi’s “Judith Slaying Holofernes”
Other than remaining one particular of the number of women of all ages to protected her place in the historic artwork globe, Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi endures as the visionary driving “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” 1 of the most gruesomely putting paintings at any time exhibited. Made in the early 1600s, the Previous Testomony tale depicts the beheading of an Assyrian basic, in all its gory element, by a Jewish widow, an act that would assistance help save her fellow Israelites. The get the job done is now regarded by quite a few industry experts as a touchstone of feminist artwork.
The Frick Pittsburgh will convey the painting into the fashionable age by aligning it with a similarly titled function by a celebrated Black American present-day artist. 



SLAY: Artemisia Gentileschi & Kehinde Wiley will pair “Judith Slaying Holofernes” with a function by Wiley, a painter ideal identified for his hyper-real looking portraits of Black adult men and girls, which include his 2018 portrait of former President Barack Obama. A press release describes the demonstrate — on look at in The Frick Artwork Museum from Sat., April 16 as a result of July 10 — as elevating “critical queries of id, energy, inequality, oppression, and what constitutes self-defense in an unjust war.” 




As opposed to Gentileschi’s portray, Wiley’s “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” which was painted in 2012, shows a Black woman in a flowing gown greedy the severed head of Holofernes, all of which is set towards a person of the painter’s signature floral backgrounds.



“These two artists, their journeys, and their stories are vastly different. And still there is so substantially in prevalent in their encounters,” states Pittsburgh-centered artwork historian Kilolo Luckett, who coordinated the display with the Frick’s main curator Dawn R. Brean. “We are programmed to search at variances in an unhealthy way the exhibition is an opportunity to imagine differently — and to mend and grow together.” 




 
 
 Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Pittsburgh
 

 Kehinde Wiley’s “Judith Slaying Holofernes”
The display was co-organized by the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, the North Carolina Museum of Artwork, and The Museum Box. Gentileschi’s portray was borrowed from Museo e Serious Bosco di Capodimonte, while Wiley’s do the job was borrowed from the North Carolina Museum of Artwork.
“We are very grateful for the option to showcase these two terribly impressive masterworks in a never ever-ahead of-found pairing,” says Dr. Elizabeth E. Barker, government director of The Frick Pittsburgh. “Great is effective of artwork, like these two paintings, consider us exterior of ourselves and have the power to adjust the way we see the entire world.”




In addition to getting on display, the museum will also host a selection of functions made to set the paintings and their artists in a historical and social context. These include things like a dialogue led by Hebrew Bible scholar Caryn Tambler-Rosenau, a screening of the 2014 movie, Kehinde Wiley: An Economic system of Grace, and a chat with Gina Siciliano, author of the graphic novel I Know What I Am: The Lifestyle of Artemisia Gentileschi.



“When we examine a perform of art with other folks, the experience can be even richer and more significant,” claims Barker. “This is one cause why museums are taking part in an significantly essential part in fostering discourse and can even provide as brokers of social improve.”
SLAY: Artemisia Gentileschi & Kehinde Wiley. Sat., April 16-July 10. The Frick Art Museum. 7227 Reynolds St., Stage Breeze. No cost. Timed tickets required. thefrickpittsburgh.org/exhibitions
