Analysis Of Judith Slaying Holofernes

Judith was not a soldier, but she killed a fearsome warrior of the ancient world. She did this by using the gifts she had: beauty, intelligence, and ruthless cunning. Judith was a high standing woman within Bethulia, and she feared God with great devotion (Jdt 9:10). When Judith heard of her elders testing God and giving him five days to prove something, like making it rain in order to save the people of Bethulia from starving and dying of thirst, she summoned the elders and decided it was up to her to save her people. “For the strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might on the powerful” (Jdt 9:11) supports the thesis that if God is on Judith’s side she can defeat the General of the Assyrians.

Judith Cutting Off the Head of Holofernes (Figure 1), ca. 1640,1 is consisting of a well-dressed female decapitating a middle-age man in his bed with the aid of an old woman. The elegantly dressed female using a sword to behead the man is named Judith. The male figure in the painting is

1597-98). The heroic moment of Judith’s courage to as she beheads the general Holofernes is frozen onto the canvas. Instead of mathematical conventions, form is shown through dramatic tonal rendering, and contrast between the 3 figures and the darkness of the background. Similar to a photograph of a stage play. Caravaggio’s focus on the quality of the subject is the main story-telling factor. Holofernes’ mixed facial expression shows the remaining aspects of shock and panic as if there is still one final breath of life within him as his neck is being cut. However, the clear focus is on Judith herself who, standing relatively far away from the General whom she is beheading, has an unmistakably disgusted facial expression as if she wants to end the act with haste. The overall horrific atmosphere is amplified by the curtain behind the figures, it is the same colour as the blood that is shooting out from Holofernes’ neck, a visual representation to the violent act but also the Judith’s bravery and determination to save her hometown. The clear exaggeration of the blood, and theatrical style is typical of the Baroque visual

This piece of artwork is called ‘Judith Beheading Holofernes’, which was created by Caravaggio in the late 16th century in Rome. It was a type of oil painting on canvas, also, a piece of artwork in the period of Baroque. Briefly, Hood stated that in this artwork, it told the story in Biblical story of Judith, dressed as a well-born Renaissance young lady, standing at a safe distance, and who was saved her people by beheading and seducing the Assyrian general Holofernes, which was a theme very common in the 16th century. As the biblical text reported, ‘’Holofernes was so enchanted with her that he drank far more wine than he had drunk on any other day in his life’’ (Judith 12:20). Judith got Holofernes drunk, then took his sword and killed him. (p.24)

Judith Slaying Holofernes is one of her masterpieces that has been acknowledged as a proper piece to understand the main characteristics of her painting style. Carol Strickland, an American art historian, explains that this painting shows how Gentileschi depicted her subject into the style of Caravaggio, who was her father’s teacher and famous for dramatic lightning (Strickland, 47). Based on these facts, some critics conjecture that Gentileschi may just have borrowed the dramatic story from the Book of Judith to express her technique that resembled that of Caravaggio. They argue that it is unreasonable and too subjective to relate Judith Slaying Holofernes with the identity of Gentileschi. Identity of Gentileschi, however, cannot be separated with the story of Judith and the painting Judith Slaying Holofernes because Gentileschi’s identity severely resembles that of Judith. Their struggle, success leaded by their capacity, and destruction of the gender stereotypes are main common aspects that Judith and Gentileschi share. These qualities further prove how Artemisia Gentileschi was an ideal feminist who asserted her freedom inside an unfair

At fourteen, during her wedding her lover's mistress killed him with a poisoned drink. She went with her mother to their estate in Gaeta. On the way pirates boarded the ship and raped the women and sailed to Morocco to sell them as slaves. There was a war going on in Morocco and the pirates were attacked, the old woman saw her mother and maids of honor ripped apart by men. She somehow survived, fell asleep under a tree and woke up to an Italian man trying to rape her. She met a country man who had once served at her mother's palace he promised to take her back to Italy but took her to Algiers and sold her to the prince. She was then sold several times and ended up owned by a Muslim military commander. He brought her to Algiers to defend the city of Azov against the Russians. Only the commander's fort was left standing and eunuchs wanted to kill and eat her. A religious leader convinced them to only cut one of her buttocks for food. She was taken to Moscow and a nobleman took her as his slave and beat her daily for two years. She managed to escape when he was executed and she worked as a servant in inns around Russia.

Artists striving for any appearance of propriety created extremely feminine, quiet and bland Judiths, perhaps to avoid the controversy Gentileschi wholeheartedly invited. Veronese's Judith7 (1570) is a perfect example of this. Her hair is immaculately braided and her skin a porcelain white rivaling the delicate pearls around her neck. She gazes into the distance as she daintily places the head of Holofernes in the bag her servant holds out for her. Simply put, Judith appears as dead as the head she holds. She is devoid of emotion, intelligence and humanity. Again, she is nothing but an allegory, a warning for proud and arrogant men.

In the year of 1571, Caravaggio was born in Italy. At age 11, Caravaggio was orphaned, luckily he was apprenticed with a painter in Milan. His work became popular when he moved to Rome. Caravaggio's work became popular for the “tenebrism technique he used, which used shadow to emphasize lighter areas” (“Caravaggio”). This painting tells a biblical story about Judith Beheading Holofernes. In the picture, Judith is the women in the middle that is about to behead Holofernes, the man lying on the bed. The reason why she is doing this because she is saving her people from Holofernes. The women on the far left is Judith’s maid waiting for her to behead Holofernes (Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1599 by Caravaggio). Caravaggio used many elements

 It seemed as if the court almost condoned his actions and felt little pity for Artemisia.  Her paintings, at this point in her life, become drastically different.  In about 1612, she paints the first of five works of Judith and Holoferness.  The gory scene shows Holoferness, an Assyrian general being beheaded by Judith, a Jewish widow.  The scene shows ample amount of blood, however, it does not feel like a room of murder.  The killing of Holoferness by Judith is done in order to protect her homeland and life.  Also, she prays to god in order to give her the strength to do the killing.  Therefore, she felt it was justifiable.  It is a rare message for the early 1600's in that it is the woman avenging a man.  The powerful scene  of   It seems that Artemisia paints these works in order to avenge her own suffering from Tossi as well as the justice system.  By depicting such a strong and powerful woman, Artemisia is, in a sense, creating a world which she believes in.  In this world, women can speak up and women are heard.  Women are just as capable of murder, leadership, and power as any man.  Artemisia paints four more scenes of Judith and Holoferness all varying slightly.  However, her overall theme and meaning of the work is consistent.  Simply put, Judith is a woman to be looked at and respected for being a strong willed woman who stands up for what she

I believe, as do others, Judith and the Maidservant with the head of Holofernes is perhaps homage to her rape and subsequent treatment during her adolescent years. Her painting`s inspiration also plays tribute to the biblical story of Judith, who sleeps with the King Holofernes and than decapitates the drunk King in his sleep. Both Judith and the maidservant are now dominate in the painting over the dead male, they are quiet, unobtrusive and tense. A single candle burns within the dark room creating stark contrast between light and dark. The artist`s great skill can be seen in the bright highlighted details of Judith's hand and in the folds of clothing of the two. Depth and dark core detail can also be seen in the dark and reflective shadow areas within the room. Judith's hand covers the candlelight as she peers at the outside world, perhaps in an attempt to help in

Mildred Fish Harnack: Harnack is a close friend of Martha and a representative of the American Women’s Club. For this reason she was executed in 1943. This show Hitler wanted absolute control and nobody to oppose him.

Considered one of the most important artists of the Baroque movement in Early Modern Europe, Artemisia Gentileschi, had to prove herself and break down the boundaries for a woman in a male dominated field. Artemisia was born in Rome on July 8, 1953 to Orazio and Prudentia Monotone Gentileschi, who died when the artist was only twelve years of age. Her upbringing was left to her father, who was also a well-known painter. He trained her since she was not permitted to learn in the studios of successful artists of the moment. Orazio introduced his daughter to the working artists of Rome including Caravaggio, whose tenebrism technique and chiaroscuro style had a great influence on her paintings.

The story behind this painting is a Biblical tale about a strong heroine named Judith, who was known for her bravery and resistance against the Assyrian troops that come to assume control over her people. In this story, Judith uses her wit and seduction to ease her way into the Assyrian troops' camp and continue with a genius plan to execute the Assyrian General, Holofernes. She seduces him, and once he is drunk, beheads him in his own tent, with his own soldiers all around him oblivious (Branch). Judith was able to defeat the enemy and resist what could have been the end of many Israelites' lives. Cranach's choice suggested a political resistance that required a bravery similar to that of Judith's. Small details in the painting such as the bodice of the dress and Judith's jewelry show Cranach's love for a decorative surface, as well as the

In this essay, I will discuss the startling differences between two depictions of the story of Judith and Holofernes. “Judith with the Head of Holofernes”, 1495, created by Andrea Mantegna, is a small-scale painting that was completed during the Renaissance. The second is a Baroque painting, “Judith Slaying Holofernes”, c.1620 by Artemisia Gentileschi and is on a larger scale than the version created by Mantegna. Both artworks take inspiration from the religious story that appears in the Catholic editions of the Bible. The story is about a young widowed Jewish woman, by the name of Judith, who murdered an enemy army general, Holofernes, to spare her people from death. I will compare and contrast how the scene has been depicted in rather different ways by each of the artists and the influencing factors that contributed to the overall outcome of both works. I will also be discussing how form and naturalism are portrayed between the two paintings, use of colour, symbolism and religion, as well as the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

The Book of Judges talks about ancient Israel, and how they extended their territory by acquiring lands from the non-Israelites. The book narrates how Israelites conquered and reclaimed their lost land from non-Israelites and how they used to turn from God whenever they are satisfied. But it is written in the Bible that, the guilty are by no means cleared, as Exodus (34:7) says this is the reason why the Lord used several Kings and Judges like Deborah to help the people of Israel find their way back to Him. As the book reveals, it is evident that most of the judges were men (as they were most of the times referred to as Judges). The book talks about a great woman Deborah, also referred to as the “bee”, as a key judge in the entire book. This book unveils the importance of women (through acts and strengths of Deborah (mainly) and other heroic female characters) and their power to the readers.