Greg Ruth, Judith

I have always loved Caravaggio of course, and especially his portrait of Judith and Holofernes, but to choose sides in a long raging battle steeped in women's rights and the aggravating concept of how many really amazing paintings we denied ourselves due to our bizarre cultural prejudices, it is Artemesia Gentileschi's that takes the prize by a long shot.

Hers depicts the grotesque power of this legendary biblical cautionary tale, both in Judith, and her victim but more so in the poignant depiction of her servant ready and eager to dispatch this particular duty. There's a conspiratorial intimacy happening between these two women that has always been a forceful example of the narrative quality of single image art. Gentileschi's a tremendous painter and great influence on what I do today, so to kick off this year's Women's History Month, let us pay no small homage to her, her talents and her bravado for standing up and expressing herself in a time where such an act would be unheard of.
(Greg Ruth, March 2010)
9x12" brush and sumi ink