Title:
Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Creator/Contributor:
Il Cavaliere d'Arpino (artist)
Date:
1603-06
Identifier:
1943.2
Format:
oil on canvas
The Old Testament heroine Judith here holds the head of Holofernes after beheading him. Holofernes was the leader of the enemy
forces that had besieged Judith's city of Bethulia. Judith had gained entry to Holofernes' camp by pretending to be a traitor.
For artists and a religious public, Judith's deed embodied the virtues of chastity, justice, and the triumph of humility over
pride. By the sixteenth century, however, Judith was increasingly associated with less noble heroines, such as Salome. Both
were often represented by male artists as the embodiment of feminine erotic tyranny over men.