Trouble arose when Orazio allowed Artemisia to study with the painter Agostino Tassi, an acclaimed painter from Florence who was Orazio's colleague, rival, and emotional opposite. The two begin a sexual relationship that is portrayed in the film as a loving affair. Orazio learns of the affair and brings the matter to an ecclesiastical court, accusing Tassi of rape. The transcripts of the trial have been published in recent years, and according to those who've viewed them, the film strays from the transcripts in numerous ways. Yet it's probably misleading to interpret these transcripts from the vantage point of the modern day and age in doggedly literal terms.
Modern viewpoints seem to shape a lot of what is portrayed in Artemisia.
While that opens up possibilities for understanding, it also presents a skewed perspective for biography. Austin Chronicle .