I thought about this book a lot. I am in awe of how the author created
such a complete picture of a human being with such spare prose. It’s not
a very long book and yet it felt like I had read it for weeks instead of
a couple days.

Artemisia is an actual historical person, Artemisia Gentileschi, who
painted during the Baroque period of art in Italy. She was the first
woman to be admitted to the Accademia dell’ Arte in Florence, knew and
corresponded with Galileo, had Cosimo De Medici II as her patron and
supported herself and her children with her painting. She was also raped
by her father’s co-worker and tortured in court to verify her accusation.
Apparently, if a woman didn’t recant her story while in extreme pain, she
really was telling the truth.

What Vreeland does is take the bare bones of her story and turn it into a
searching, thoughtful story about the struggle of a woman who must choose
between her personal happiness and her God given gifts. Artemisia is
passionate about painting but she suffers for her passion. The title is
double entendre. I actually looked up the word “passion” to make sure I
wasn’t imagining things. She cannot deny her ability to paint but as a
woman it costs her the men she loves to continue with her art.
Particularly touching was her struggle watching her daughter grow up to
have conventional desires and aims in life, denying her mother’s gifts.

I recommend this book highly. It is packaged like a “chick” book but the
content is so much better than the impression the cover makes. By the
time I was done, I knew Artemisia like a friend.