Judith Leyster 's Self Portrait

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

I chose to write about L’Envouteuse (The Sorceress) by Georges Merle. Merle’s father was also a painter, and since Merle did not sign some of his early work it was often confused to be done by his dad. George himself was known by his talent of painting the body form of women. Merle painted this during the time of 1883. This painting is 57 ½ inches x 45 inches making this a fairly large piece. When painting this he used oil on canvas. I found L’Envouteuse (The Sorceress) while I was browsing through The Birmingham Museum of Art. Above all pieces of art I saw in the museum, this painting seemed to be the most captivating. As soon as I laid eyes on it my attention was immediately taken by this mysterious piece of art. I grabbed a stool and began writing down my observations. Looking at this painting on paper cannot even compare to actually seeing it in person. Pictures I have seen online of L’Envouteuse (The Sorceress) do not justify the great detail and vigorous colors that are more easily seen while actually standing in front of the painting.

Differences between the Italian Renaissance and the Reformation can be seen in art. Renaissance art exhibited a secular spirit. Artists, for the first time since the antiquity, painted secular themes. The human body was portrayed as being beautiful in its nature and glorified humans, rather then God. Art was dynamic and vivacious, often seeming as though it was in movement. This portrayal both was a reaction to the iconographic God worshipping art of the Middle Ages, and caused a reaction in Protestants, resulting in their more conservative style. Nude bodies, often seen in Italian Renaissance paintings and sculptures, are never seen in those of the Protestants. Their religious beliefs and way of life, in many ways countering that of the

Art with biblical themes were popular in the Middle Ages because the artists were also focused on theology. Jesus and Mary were usually the main focus in most paintings. The people in the Middle Ages really appreciated godly looks and tried to incorporate the catholic religion in most if not all of their paintings (class notes). For example, Giotto’s painting Madonna and child displays Mary and Jesus in the center of the painting. Not only are Mary and Jesus in the center, they are also illustrated to be a lot bigger than the angels around them. Giotto wasn’t the only artist to place Mary and Jesus in the center and larger, this was very normal for the Middle Ages. Most artists were very influenced by the church because the church had the highest role in government.

The painting Udney Maria Blakeley (1830), by Thomas Sully, was the first painting that came to mind when assigned the project: the painting has fascinated me both as a child and an adult due to the beauty of both the woman in the painting, but also from my deeper understanding of art now. Thomas Sully used the wet medium of oil on canvas, and included the woman in the foreground of the painting holding a rose in a vase in her right hand. There is a deep contrast between the women dressed in a white gown, and the darker background of the painting. Due to the highlighting along the left side of her face, and the shadowing on the right, it can be assumed that she is facing, or even looking straight at the

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

The impact of the Protestant Reformation changed the Northern European art in 1517 – 1648. The Protestants depicted narrative imageries from the bible that did not stray

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

In the painting, ‘Virgin and Child’, by Rogier van der Weyden, it can be observed that the artist chose to use the medium of oil on wood. Despite the fact that Rogier van der Weyden created this painting in the Netherlands and was born in Tournai, Belgium, their primary influence appeared to stem from the Italian Renaissance, which had begun to use the technique of oil paintings with increasing frequency by turn of the 15th century. The subject of the painting itself, Madonna and her virgin child, were a common theme in the Renaissance, where religious subjects and topics were the primary choice for any prominent artist during this historical artistic period.

Have you ever looked at a piece of art and wondered how it could be based on real life, because it was just so beautiful? Well Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun was able to paint in such new and exciting ways; people were left wondering just this. Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun was a woman of many talents. In her life time she came up with new ways of painting, revolutionized fashion in France, and overcame any prejudice thinking because she was a woman. Before dying at the age of eighty-seven, she had gained the respect of women and men all across the world. Being a female artist in the eighteenth century was not easy, especially when you had to keep a career and your life together during the

“Woman Holding a Balance” is a Northern European piece of art painted by Johannes Vermeer between the dates of 1662 and1665. This painting was created out of oils. This fascinating piece of art uses light and color to depict its depth and space.

Through this painting, Marie Louise Elizabeth Vigee-LeBrun is sharing herself with the viewer. The message is easily understood.

The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink

In each of the paintings, the figures appear somewhat different to each other, with those in “Judith Slaying Holofernes” looking far more humanistic than that of “Judith with the Head of Holofernes”. In Mantegna’s painting, Judith and her servant, Abra, look statuesque in pose while Judith, as if in pity for her victim, turns her eyes away from the head of Holofernes that she holds above the bag her servant holds open Judith. In Renaissance art,