Agostino Tassi, ca. (1580–1644)

• Tassi was an Italian landscape and seascape painter.
• His family name was Buonamici, but Agostino adopted the surname Tassi to give substance to his story that he was adopted by the Marchese Tassi.
• He was actually the son of a furrier named Domenico.
• Tassi may have worked for a time in Livorno, as well as in Florence.
• Among his followers or pupils in Livorno is thought to be Pietro Ciafferi.
• Regarding his artistic formation, Tassi is said to have been a pupil of Paul Bril.

• He later worked in Rome with Orazio Gentileschi, who painted figures, after being commissioned by Pope Paul V.

• During his stay, he raped Orazio's daughter, the painter Artemisia Gentileschi.

• In Rome, Tassi also served as the master (from April 1625) of French painter Claude Lorrain as well as Viviano Codazzi and Costanzo de Peris.

• In 1612, Tassi was convicted of raping Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian Baroque painter with an international clientele.

• Tassi originally denied the accusation, stating, "Never have I had carnal relations nor tried to have it with the said Artemisia... I've never been alone in Artemisia's house with her."

• He afterwards claimed that he had visited her house in order to safeguard her honor.

• Tassi had already run afoul of the law, having earlier been accused of raping both his sister-in-law and one of his wives.

• His wife had been missing for a time, and it was believed that Tassi had hired bandits to kill her and to steal some of Orazio's paintings. 

• At the end of the trial, Tassi was imprisoned for two years.

• His verdict was later annulled and he was at liberty in 1613.

• His crime and its impact on Artemisia Gentileschi subsequently influenced the feminist view of her during the late 17th century.

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