The life of Artemisia Gentileschi becomes an American TV series

The Life of Artemisia Gentileschi is to become an American TV series, to be developed by ViacomCBS International Studios and to feature Mexican Frida Torresblanco, known for her work with Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro (in particular, she is known for producing the film The Faun’s Labyrinth, which won the 2007 Oscars for best cinematography, best set design and best makeup) as executive producer. Joining Torresblanco in the production will be Jill Offman, director of production company 66 Media.

“It is very fascinating to me,” said Torresblanco, “to give Artemisia a voice and bring her story to the screen. Her life and art give us an inspiration that is needed today more than ever. There are indeed strong links between current events and this young and courageous woman who overcame abuse and turned it into the legacy of a genius.” The series, she anticipated, will be a “feminist and contemporary product that will be both provocative and transgressive, and will invoke the spirit of our current events in an eloquent and elegant way.”

“I have been obsessed with Artemisia ever since I saw one of her works in Italy,” added Jill Offman. “Full of passion, proud, talented-Artemisia’s work speaks for her life experience, the experience of a female artist in Renaissance Italy that remains relevant today.”

From previews, it is known that the TV series will be based on the biography of Artemisia written by art historian Mary Garrard in 1989(Artemisia Gentileschi. The image of the female hero in Italian Baroque Art): the scholar is known for her feminist interpretation of the Tuscan-born painter’s work. Production, ViacomCBS reports, will begin in 2021. The story of Artemisia Gentileschi has already gone several on screen, with the celebrated 1997 film Artemisia starring a very young Valentina Cervi as the painter, while Orazio Gentileschi was played by Michel Serrault, Agostino Tassi by Miki Manojlović, and Cosimo Quorli by Luca Zingaretti. However, this is the first time his life has been made into a television series.

Pictured: Simon Vouet, Portrait of Artemisia Gentileschi, detail (c. 1623; oil on canvas, 90 x 71 cm; Pisa, Palazzo Blu)

The life of Artemisia Gentileschi becomes an American TV series

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