Art Critique Debate! (Not Drawing Competition)

Thank you Ajabi for challenging me to this unique style of debate. http://www.debate.org... If the image does not display a link to it is available here: http://www.canvasreplicas.com... Title: Susanna and the Elders Artist: Artemisia Gentileschi Date: 1610 Medium: Oil on Canvas German Graf von Schonborn art collection Description: Susanna and the Elders is a portrait canvas with a young nude woman seated on large concrete steps. The steps are backed by a wall in which 2 older men are leaning over. The man to the left, with black hair, is whispering in the grey haired man on the right. The grey haired man is then hushing towards the young woman with forefinger to his lips. The young woman's reaction is averted face and open stretched hands, signaling rejection. Artemisia Gentileschi was a female renaissance artist. It is widely accepted that this painting was her first signed work. It shows such skill that it was originally attributed to her father, Orazio. She painted this scene around the age of 17. She was being tutored by a family friend and artist, Agostino Tassi. At first glance the seated nude is alluring to the eyes. Her reaction seems to be saying to the men a combination of rejection and disgust. Maybe the older men are flirting with the woman with crass comments. But as we look closer we see the one man whispering in the ear of the other. The black haired man has his hand on the oldest man's back. As if devising a plan and conveying it to an accomplice. There is something more devious at work here. The older grey haired man has finger to lips as if shushing the young maiden. As if the older man was saying "don't tell anyone". The young maiden's body is turned leg in mid action of out stretching to the next lower step, her head and eyes averted. She seems frozen in the act of running away. She wants to leave and leave now. But she is stuck. The body language of the characters is intentionally composed and arranged to let the viewer into the story. The piece elicits a range of emotions. Lust, concern, compassion, pity, with each minute more there is a call to action to free the beauty from her lecherous harassers. The scene depicts the Biblical story of Susanna or Shoshana in the Book of Daniel. Susanna is a Hebrew wife who is watched bathing alone in her garden by 2 older men. They attempt to blackmail her for sexual favors. The men threaten to testify to the authorities that they saw Susanna meeting a lover in her garden if she doesn't agree to their demands. She refuses and is in court about to be put to death for adultery. Daniel interrupts the proceedings and asks the men under which tree in the garden did she meet her lover. Their accounts did not agree and Susanna's testimony was upheld as the truth. Art is so often drawn from real life. This biblical scene painted by other male artist tend to show Susanna as a teasing youth. Was Artemisia painting from one of her own life experiences? The seated nude is a self portrait of her at 17. The grey haired man looks like Agostino Tassi, the family friend and instructor. Later Agostino Tassi was put on trial for raping the virgin Artemisia. Artemisia Gentileschi painted in the popular Baroque style of the time. Using the motion of the characters to portray drama. The simplicity of the piece suggests an artist just beginning to come into her own style. The composition and arrangement shows signs of influence from her father. Techniques for portraying depth are simple but well executed. The influence of Caravaggio through her father Orazio can be seen in the foreshortening , the theatrical exaggerated motions and poses. While her father's work remains romantic and theatrical in content, Artemisia's own work grows to be more raw. Showcasing strong women and their less than idealized actions. This is my first time doing an Art critique debate. So despite being half way in my character limit, I look forward to following the lead set by my gracious opponent. If need be I'll resort to a Feldman method of critique. I'm unsure if the bulk of the debate will be on interpretation or compositional analysis.