Image: Elisabetta Sirani - Judith with the Head of Holofernes - Walters 37253

Description: According to the Book of Judith, the Jewish widow Judith saved the Israelites from the Assyrians by decapitating their general Holofernes, whose army had besieged her city. She did this after having made him drunk at a banquet. Judith is commonly depicted as being assisted by an older maidservant in placing the head in a sack. The contrast between Holofernes's crude features and the heroine's beauty underlines the moral message of the eventual triumph of virtue over evil. The Bolognese painter Elisabetta Sirani based her style on that of Guido Reni (1575-1642), who was admired for his idealized depictions of women, as in his Penitent Magdalene (Walters 37.2631).
Title: Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Credit: Walters Art Museum: Home page  Info about artwork
Author: Elisabetta Sirani
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Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
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