Violence and gore are not uncommon themes in art, however, few paintings depict bloodshed and power with such resounding naturalism as Artemisia Gentileschi's work titled "Judith Slaying Holofernes". The work is an oil on canvas completed in the Baroque era sometime between 1614 to 1620, and depicts Judith and her maidservant holding down the struggling Holofernes as Judith pulls a sword through his neck. Gentileschi utilizes a combination of chiaroscuro and diagonal lines to not only create the lifelikeness and drama of the moment, but also to demonstrate the motions of the struggle as well as continually draw the focus back to the goriest part of the scene with the bloody head of Holofernes.
In order to appreciate the lifelikeness of
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Likewise, half of each woman's facial features are obstructed by shadows creating a deep sense of the ruthlessness in their commitment to holding down and killing Holofernes. Moreover, Holofernes face itself is completely covered in a light shadow compared to the brightness of his arms already giving a perception that his head is separated from his body and his grim fate is imminent.
In addition to Gentileschi's use of chiaroscuro to provide lifelikeness and focus, she poses Holofernes, the maidservant, and Judith at natural angles that provide an idea of the strength involved for maidservant to hold Holofernes down and for Judith to pull the sword through this neck while gripping the hair and beard. Notably, each character is posed in a diagonal position, adding to the feeling of the motion involved in the struggle as the women hold down this large man to behead him. Beginning with Judith, her entire body is angled at a slant, both arms locked in a diagonal position, as well as the right knee placed at a diagonal on the bed displaying the commitment and power it takes to hold Holofernes down while pulling the sword through his neck. Similarly, the maidservant's back is positioned at a steep angle demonstrating the amount of weight she would be placing into her upper body and arms to hold Holofernes down as he pushes back on her with his right arm. Lastly, the sharp downward angle of Holofernes head as it hangs off the edge of the bed adds to the
“David Slaying Goliath” by Peter Paul Rubens is an example of Renaissance art. This painting depicts a well-known Bible story of a young Israelite boy named David who kills the giant, Goliath, with a slingshot, and chops off his head with a sword. Rubens has chosen to illustrate this Bible story at the moment when David is about to hack off Goliath’s head with the giant’s sword. In addition, we see armor-clad soldiers rushing into battle in the background. In “David Slaying Goliath,” Peter Paul Rubens uses color, value, and line to illustrate the dynamism and energy within the painting that makes it look realistic. In addition, these elements contribute to the sense of excitement and anticipation of the event depicted.
Bigot intentionally places the figures together to form multiple triangular shapes to create depth and balance.2 Judith is placed in the left panel of the painting, Holofernes’ resting body in the middle and Judith’s servant in the right panel. The heads of Judith and her servant make the base of the triangle and were placed higher. Holofernes’ head is shown upside down and his eyes and mouth are wide open, symbolizing the unbearable pain he is experiencing and also of his defeat. Their heads form a downward pointing triangle, making the eye focus on the action of beheading Holofernes.
Family and friends are vital for fitting in. In the novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Kit Tyler travels from Barbados to Wethersfield, Connecticut to stay with her aunt, uncle and two cousins. Kit is nice to her cousins but her Judith Wood, her younger cousin, does not like Kit. In this novel, Judith Wood, cousin of Kit Tyler, shows signs of being obstinate and callous, but is also spry.
In this artwork, the moment of the beheading itself, those things painted are display in a flat stage, emphatically lit from the margin, segregated against the dark, shadowy background. Judith and Abra, who was her maid and stand to the right in the picture, partly over Holofernes, who was susceptible on his back. During the creation, Caravaggio adjusted the position of Holofernes' head as he proceeded, isolating it slightly from the middle and moving it marginally to one side, which was uncovered by X-rays (Bissell, 2005). His mastery of feeling and emotion was demonstrated by the faces of those characters, Judith was specifically appearing in her face a mix of repulsion and determination. Artemisia Gentileschi and other artists were profoundly influenced by this work, and even surpassed Caravaggio's physical authenticity, but it has been contended that none matched his catch of Judith's mental inner conflict (Varriano,
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.
Why do many immigrants make the long and usually costly move to America? Is it the largely idolized notion that Americans are wealthier with better opportunities? Moreover, is the price some pay worth the risk? In Willa Cather’s My Ántonia, Ántonia faces struggles as a young child, including language barriers, poverty, harsh living conditions, and her beloved father’s death. However, as Ántonia grows into a woman, she must face struggles of a social nature, such as the division of social and economic classes, as well as social opprobrium. While immigration to America may open many doors for immigrants, it is equally fraught with obstacles. Likewise, Ántonia must face many adversities after her emigration from Bohemia to Nebraska, which
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
Nanette Salomon emphasizes that there are different ways to make sense of the changes in Artemisia’s three “Susannas”. One explanation may be that Artemisia’s work show progressive naturalism or realism which can be attributed to her development as an artist.
In the case of the second painting, the femininity of the Bride of Giovanni Arnolfini is one of the central themes of the painting. The core compositional element of Oath of the Horatii is the triangle, which involves the with the brothers on the left side, the female to the right. The central position is occupied by Horatius. The apex is formed by the up-raised swords in the hands of Horatius. One more triangle is formed by the exaggerated posture of Horatius and the brothers, who hold the spear. This triangle is located left of center and it is inverted. While looking at the picture, these two compositions (triangular ones) attract the major attention. In addition, it is possible to notice the contradicting horizontal lines on the foreground marble floor and the strong vertical lines, created by the Doric columns and the curvilinear archways, which are located at the background part (Gutwirth
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
Vittore Carpaccio’s symmetrical input truly served it’s purpose. Focusing on the center third of the painting, there’s a mere perfect symmetrical contrast of life and death top to bottom. Most impacting is the symmetrical division of the malnourished and tortured body of Jesus Christ, The left side of his body is in a lively sitting posture on the throne. While his right side is the embodiment of death, his punctured ribs and dangling arm. From the ground up, Carpaccio illustrates the contrast of life and death with minimal details in the painting. The supporting stones of the throne, directly below the arm rests, are divided by breakage, the left stone is cracked and falling apart, while the opposing stone appears to be intact. Vittore Carpaccio managed to capture the cycle of life with many elements one wouldn’t think of comparing life and death with. The top left portion of the throne is a half broken, followed by Jesus’s deadly posture to the falling apart ground stone of the throne, Death is captured in a very recognizable minimalistic form.
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Venus and Cupid is a painting of an angel caressing a woman resting on the bed. In actuality, the painting is about Venus, the Goddess of Love, who is asleep in a very luxurious and classical environment. While she is asleep, Cupid diligently wields a peacock-feathered fan to keep away pests, which makes the environment more safe and peaceful. Primarily strong contrasting lights and darkness display Gentileschi’s work, perhaps inspired by both her father and Caravaggio. Her paintings are all primarily bold compositions for example the
The era of Mannerism is renown for its increasingly complex works of art, much like the High Renaissance before it, and the discipline of sculpture is no exception. Out of this period comes more intricate poses, forms, and emphasis on the illusion of movement which is perhaps most evident in Giambologna's "The Rape of the Sabine Women". His sculpture depicts a young man attempting to carry a struggling young woman as he stands over the contorted body of an older man, either the woman's husband or father. What is interesting about this work is not only the realistic human forms and perceived chaos of the moment, but also the lack of a dominant side from which this sculpture would be viewed. In order to achieve these features, Giabologna utilizes a combination of various textures and diagonal lines to create the complete illusion of muscle, flesh, energy, and multiple focus points.
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,