Judith with Holofernes' Head (홀로페르네스의 머리를 든 유디트)

 

 

 

 

9. 그러고 나서 그의 몸뚱이를 침상에서 굴려 버리고, 닫집을 기둥에서 뽑아 내렸다. 잠시 뒤에 유딧은 밖으로 나가 홀로헤르메스의 머리를 자기 시녀에게 넘겼다.

9 And tumbled his body down from the bed, and pulled down the canopy from the pillars; and anon after she went forth, and gave Holofernes his head to her maid;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Titian 1487/90 – 1576

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

oil on canvas (89 × 73 cm) — c. 1515

  Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

Titian biography

 

This work is linked to Judith 13:9

Judith had succeeded in luring the enemy warlord Holofernes into his tent, where she seized the opportunity to cut of his head while his guards were outside. Here she holds the head on a dish, as her servant looks at her with an almost adoring gaze.

It was long thought that Titian's painting depicted another biblical decapitation: that of St. John the Baptist. But the main figure in the painting looks so tempting that she has to be Judith, the attractive widow from Bethulia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michelangelo Buonarroti 1475 – 1564

Judith with the head of Holofernes

fresco (570 × 970 cm) — 1509

Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

Michelangelo Buonarroti biography

 

This work is linked to Judith 13:9

 

Judith and her maid have put Holofernes' head on a dish and are covering it with a cloth. The dead army leader lies to the right, his arms still seemingly struggling. The arms are in harmony with the sleeves of his armor, left.

This fresco is found in a corner of the Sistine Chapel, at the side of the entrance. In the other corner is the fresco with David killing Goliath, another episode of a Jewish hero killing an enemy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giorgione 1477 – 1510

Judith with Holofernes' Head

oil on canvas (144 × 66 cm) — c. 1504

Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Giorgione biography

 

This work is linked to Judith 13:9

 

Judith poses with the head of Holofernes under her foot. Holofernes was the enemy warlord she decapitated with the sword in her right hand.

Giorgione originally painted this work on a wooden panel. In 1893 the painting was transfered to canvas.

The statue of David that the sculptor Donatello made in 1440 may have served as an example.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artemisia Gentileschi 1593 – 1656

Judith, Her Maid and Holofernes' Head

oil on canvas (114 × 94 cm) — 1613-1614

  Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Artemisia Gentileschi biography

 

This work is linked to Judith 13:9

 

Judith has just decapitated the Assyrian army chief Holofernes. Her maidservant carries the head in a basket. They take a last look at Holofernes' dead body. Soon after the head would be on display on Judith's Bethulia city walls.

Artemisia probably made this painting not long after completing her version of Judith Beheading Holofernes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucas Cranach the Elder 1472 – 1553

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

oil on panel (77 × 56 cm) — 1530

Burrell Collection, Glasgow

Lucas Cranach the Elder biography

 

This work is linked to Judith 13:9

Judith proudly presents the head of the enemy warlord Holofernes.

It is work of extremes. on the one hand is beautiful Judith, dressed to the fashion of Cranach's days. She is set against a background with a calm landscape. on the other hand are the horrible details of the act she just committed: the veins in the neck of the Assyrian and the blood on the sword.

Cranach made at least five paintings on this subject, all showing Judith and the head in a similar pose. This panel is in Glasgow, others are in New York (Met) and Vienna (KHM), amongst others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Botticelli (Sandro Filipepi) ca. 1445 – 1510

Judith Holding Holofernes' Head

oil and tempera on panel (37 × 20 cm) — 1495-1500

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Botticelli (Sandro Filipepi) biography

 

This work is linked to Judith 13:9

 

Judith and her servant leave the tent of the enemy warlord Holofernes. The pious widow had used her good looks to deceive the warlord, in order to eliminate the man whose troops were beseiging her city.

Technically, this is a sub-standard work by Botticelli. Compare it with this older version. Judith's torso seems to long while her head is too small.

When he made this panel, Botticelli had become a supporter of the reform movement led by Savonarola.