(#13) Artemisia, Judith, and Zanzare: A tale from Italy
In all the times I studied Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holoferenes, I never once imagined myself relating to Holofernes, the Assyrian general beheaded by Judith. (Judith? Yes, of course–she’s the symbol of feminine rage.) To my surprise, as I was standing before Artemisia’s masterpiece at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, I found myself sympathizing–just for a split second!—with Holofernes. Blood thirsty aggressors, a vulnerable, sleeping victim: it was a story I knew all too well.
Yes, I am being dramatic, but I have a tale to tell. On the morning I had tickets to the Uffizi Gallery, I awoke to find my left eye swollen shut from a mosquito bite. My earlobe, which too fell victim to a mosquito’s thirst, was inflated as well, which I did not know was possible. It was bad. Perhaps you have heard about how mosquitoes like biting certain people more than others. During my five days in Florence, I learned Italian mosquitoes (zanzare!!) love me. Was it a punishment from an ancient Roman deity for flirting with too many waiters? Probably. I was cranky, defeated, and, in a moment of vanity, annoyed at the fact that I would have to go out in public. I resigned myself to wearing sunglasses the whole day, inside, outside, day and night.
At this point, I was not exactly thrilled about going to the Uffizi. I had already purchased tickets so I had to go. There were four paintings I needed to see in person–the Gentileschi, two Botticellis, and a Caravaggio. There were a couple issues with the Uffizi. One being it was crowded. Another being that most of the rooms were very dimly lit. My eye still looked awful and pretty suspicious to be honest so I wore my sunglasses most of the time inside the gallery when there were other people around. My depth perception was limited as a result. I didn’t want to attract attention to my gruesome eye but apparently when you wear sunglasses inside a dark room you seem pretty strange and people look at you weirdly! I rushed through most of the rooms, barely glancing at the Da Vincis and Raphaels. Had I been in a better mood, not drowsy from Benadryl, and had full vision out of my left eye, I would have spent more time marveling at the paintings. I also should note that this was about four days into my trip to Italy. I had already seen a ton of art. I was saturated!
Eventually, I found Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes. Luckily I was the only one in the room so I could remove my glasses. This painting was tucked away in a gallery with red walls with the Caravaggios far from crowded rooms near the entrance. I was worried that I would never find it or that it was in a room I skipped. After a few lucky turns, I found myself standing before one of my favorite paintings in the world. I am a bit numb to the subject matter of the painting at this point. The squirts of blood used to make me wince. One thing I noticed in person that I had not before were the drops of blood on Judith and her maidservant. I still cannot wrap my head around why this painting was practically hidden in the museum. To me, it is one of the greatest paintings from the Baroque period, yet it was so hard to find. (If you want to see another Artemisia Gentileschi painting in Florence that is far more accessible, I recommend checking out the Casa Buonarroti Museum, also known as Michelangelo’s house.)
After a few days, my eye did return to normal. This whole ordeal did result in my favorite interaction I had in Italian. In my desperation, I sought out the wisdom of an Italian pharmacist. I walked up to the counter and took off my sunglasses, pointed to my eye and said, “ho svegliato con questo.” The pharmacist’s eyebrows shot up, she sucked in a quick breath and winced–it was that bad! She was very kind and gave me care instructions and comforted me by saying someone else came in recently with a swollen eye, too. I also got insect repellent while I was there.
I have many tales to recount from my time in Italy, including being trapped on scaffolding at the Brancacci Chapel and seeing my favorite sight, Largo di Torre Argentina, where Julius Caesar was assassinated. It was incredible to see the art that I’ve studied in my classes and to speak the language I’ve been learning since I was thirteen. I will be back soon!
