Artemisia (film)

Artemisia is a 1997 FrenchItalianGerman biographical film about Artemisia Gentileschi, the female Italian Baroque painter. The film was directed by Agns Merlet, and stars Valentina Cervi and Michel Serrault.

Artemisia seeks the tutelage of Agostino Tassi Mike Manojlovic, her fathers collaborator in painting frescoes, to learn from him the art of perspective. Tassi is a man notorious for his nighttime debauchery. The two hone their skills as artists, but they also fall in love, and their relationship moves into the realm of physical pleasure. Artemisias father spots the couple making love and files a lawsuit against Tassi for rape. In the subsequent trial, Artemisias physical state is investigated by two nuns, and then she is tortured by thumbscrews. Nevertheless, even under torture, Artemisia denies being raped, and proclaims their mutual love. Tassi himself, devastated by her plight, admits to raping her in order to stop her ordeal.Merlet said of her film, I didnt want to show her as a victim but like a more modern woman who took her life into her own hands. ........

Source: Wikipedia