Point of View

The point of view of the novel is not entirely consistent. The majority of the story is told in first-person by Artemisia, who speaks in verse in the present tense. From her perspective, the reader experiences her views on the dismal life she leads as a Roman woman with a humongous gift that is continually threatened to be stifled.

Artemisia is not allowed to leave the house on her own, and she is never taught to read or write. Her knowledge of the world is therefore limited to what those around her teach her. Her father is a subpar painter, but she surpasses his talent through her natural gifts. She has a way of looking at the world and applying what she notices about color and line to the paintings she is working on that enables her to increase her skill without any assistance. She...