The reflection of the candlelight on Artemisia's eyeball, the momentarily blackness as she shifts her view or blinks here eye, and the written credits suggest stains on her eye, a kind of blind spot, or what Jacques Lacan would call the objet petit a, the blind spot that structures vision (or Paul de Man's blindness and insight). The credits create a double vision for the spectator, who reads them while also watching Artemisia's eye. The credits are also repeated a second time after what turns out to be a prologue. The second time involves the titles alone, however. Repetition is a key aspect of the film's narrative.Artemisia's are also wide open at various other scenes in the film involving sex and art. See, for example, the scenes with shots with Artemisia's eyes wide open. Note also the relative indifference of the credits to gender. Michel Serrault's name comes first (he plakys Orazio) because he is the most famous acor (and has the best agent). Valentina Cervi (Artemisia) comes second. But the font used and the size of the font is the same for men and for women.
