Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder
(German, 1472 - 1553)
Dateca. 1527-1537
Object number60.0143
Mediumoil on panel
Dimensionsframe: 33 13/16 x 22 9/16 x 3/16 in., (85.9 x 57.3 x 0.4 cm,)
34 1/4 x 32 1/2 in. (87 x 82.6 cm)
34 1/4 x 32 1/2 in. (87 x 82.6 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.
Collections
On View
Not on viewDescription[REPLACE DESCRIPTION - SEE BELOW] According to the Bible, Judith crept into the camp of her community’s enemy, Holofernes, in order to seduce and kill him when he was most vulnerable. Dressed luxuriously and suggestively, Judith stands here dressed in red velvet and wearing the jewels of a sixteenth-century courtesan. She holds the head of her defeated enemy with gloves sliced open to show her rings, and blood still on the blade of her sword. Though Holofernes stares out at the viewer warning us not to be tricked by a woman’s deception, Judith throws an inscrutable glance our way as the brave savior of her people.
[NEW DESCRIPTION] In the Old Testament, Judith was a Jewish widow who vowed to free her people from the siege of the Assyrians by deceiving their leader, the general Holofernes. Seduced by Judith’s beauty, Holofernes organized a feast and invited her into his tent. Judith, finding the general under the effects of alcohol, decapitated him when they were alone. After losing their leader, the Assyrians withdrew. In this work, Cranach shows a victorious Judith with a firm, serene gaze that contrasts with the deathly-pale and agonizing features of Holofernes. The sword in her right hand belonged to the general, who had been sent by King Nebuchadnezzar to conquer the Israelites. It is possible that the initial on the sword’s blade alludes to the Assyrian king.
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