logo
Log in
EN
IT
FR
DE
ES
logo
EN
IT
FR
DE
ES
artsupp banner
Log in
Globe
Beheading of the rhinoceros
Without title
Untitled
Without title
Without title
Indivisible quartet
Room for voices
Time, mistake, space
Without title
Yellow surface
River bed
A J L B
Without title
Checks. Tribute to Niepce
Amalfi box
Big Black Cretto
Basin
Without title
Shock wave
White gold room
Flagellation of Christ
Judith and Holofernes
Vesuvius
Portrait of Paul III with his grandchildren
Danae
Portrait of a young woman called Antea
The Parable of the Blind
Atalante by Ippomena
Transfiguration of Christ
Madonna and Child with Angels
Crib group with the Nativity
Sant'Agata
Portrait of fra luca Pacioli with a pupil
Hercules at the crossroads
Apollo and Marsyas
Saint Jerome in the study
From Frisio to Santa Lucia or Neapolitan song
Crucifixion
Madonna of the veil
Portrait of Pier Luigi Farnese in armor
Globe
Beheading of the rhinoceros
Without title
Untitled
Without title
Without title
Indivisible quartet
Room for voices
Time, mistake, space
Without title
Yellow surface
River bed
A J L B
Without title
Checks. Tribute to Niepce
Amalfi box
Big Black Cretto
Basin
Without title
Shock wave
White gold room
Flagellation of Christ
Judith and Holofernes
Vesuvius
Portrait of Paul III with his grandchildren
Danae
Portrait of a young woman called Antea
The Parable of the Blind
Atalante by Ippomena
Transfiguration of Christ
Madonna and Child with Angels
Crib group with the Nativity
Sant'Agata
Portrait of fra luca Pacioli with a pupil
Hercules at the crossroads
Apollo and Marsyas
Saint Jerome in the study
From Frisio to Santa Lucia or Neapolitan song
Crucifixion
Madonna of the veil
Portrait of Pier Luigi Farnese in armor

Judith and Holofernes

Artemisia Gentileschi

Displayed in:

Capodimonte Museum and Real Wood

Capodimonte Museum and Real Wood

Via Miano, 2, Naples

Closed now: open at 08:30

Verified profile

The painting depicts Judith in the act of cutting off the head of the Assyrian general Holofernes who was besieging the city of Betula. The Jewish heroine, assisted by the slave Abra, who actively participates in the beheading, embodies chastity and moral strength. Compared to most of the painters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who chose for the representation of this biblical episode the moment of the escape of the two women from the enemy camp after the assassination, or Judith who triumphantly shows the head of Holofernes, Gentileschi chose the the most dramatic moment, namely that of the beheading, taking inspiration from the famous canvas with the same subject by Caravaggio now in Palazzo Barberini. The painting was also related to the trauma suffered by the painter, who in 1611 was raped by her colleague, Agostino Tassi. It is an early work, performed in Rome between 1612 and 1613, as evidenced by the strong naturalistic imprint that is accompanied by some uncertainties in the composition and anatomy. The version preserved in the Uffizi is considered by experts to be later than this one. The rigid position of the Judith's arm finds a direct reference in the homonymous painting by Caravaggio, while the figure of Holofernes denotes the knowledge of the work with an analogous subject by Rubens, as well as that depicting David and Goliath of his father, Orazio Gentileschi. Some copies of the painting and a smaller version on blackboard preserved in the Archbishop's Palace in Milan are known.
Read more

Details

Title: Judith and Holofernes

Author: Artemisia Gentileschi

Date: 1612-1613

Technique: Oil painting on canvas

Displayed in: Capodimonte Museum and Real Wood

Exhibitions

about the artist

All ongoing and upcoming exhibitions where there are works by

Other works

at Naples

Related Searches

See more