Courtesy Kimbell
The Kimbell Art Museum’s new focus exhibition, Slay: Artemisia Gentileschi and Kehinde Wiley, offers a fresh conversation on two paintings by acclaimed artists that share similar themes but are separated by 400 years. The two paintings will be on display July 19 – Oct. 9.
Both the Italian Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, and acclaimed American contemporary artist, Kehinde Wiley, demonstrate the defiance of female empowerment through their paintings, bookended by 400 years. The Old Testament’s Book of Judith, where a local widow cunningly deceives Holofernes and beheads him in his sleep, serves as the main inspiration for both works. Although the two paintings were manifested in different centuries, both portray gender, race, violence, and oppression as core issues.
“The dynamics of power, the struggle for freedom, and the truimph of the disenfranchised are fundamental themes in art and literature through the ages,” curator of European art and head of academic services at the Kimbell, Nancy E. Edwards says. “Seeing these paintings together helps to sharpen our sensibilities and broaden our vision.”
The elder of the two paintings, Gentileschi’s Judith and Holofernes, returns to the Kimbell for the first time since its appearance in the 2020 exhibition Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum. Gentileschi was about 19 when she painted the 17th-century masterpiece, serving as a notable counterpoint in what was a male-dominated field. This is neither the first painting created of Judith and Holofernes nor the first time the Kimbell has featured a rendition of this oft-told story from the Bible. But Gentileschi’s style, storytelling, and use of details sets her painting apart from others — becoming the quintessential image associated with Judith’s beheading of Holofernes.
“She takes it a step further,” Edwards says. “What I think one of the most fascinating things about this painting is what a great storyteller she is, and how she makes the story believable. She creates a pinwheel composition — a web of arms and legs — and there’s real physicality to the work. She makes us think about the heroine in physical terms and how she actually accomplishes this deed. It’s a gripping work, and we feel this story in such a visceral way of this woman, Judith, as a heroine and someone who has resolve and is, in fact, a liberator.”
This is the second time Kehinde Wiley has made the rounds in Fort Worth. The first time was in September of 2015 with his traveling exhibit A New Republic, which went on display at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Wiley is known for his portraits of young Black men standing in historical poses. One of his most recognized paintings is of the official portrait of President Barack Obama, which now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.. His 2012 painting of Judith and Holofernes portrays the female subject is seen beheading someone in a triumphant stance, mirroring the painting Baglione
“At the Kimbell, we believe that art enables us to better and understand ourselves and our world,” director of the Kimbell Art Museum, Eric M. Lee, says. “We invite visitors to SLAY to explore the paintings’ pictorial power and their ability to communicate critical issues across time, place, and culture.”
To coincide with the exhibit, the Kimbell will show the documentary Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace Aug. 28. The film documents how Wiley styles African American women in poses based on historical paintings.
Admission to the exhibit is free.
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