Judith Beheading Holofernes - Caravaggio
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Judith Beheading Holofernes - Caravaggio
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Judith Beheading Holofernes, by Caravaggio, 1602.
This deeply gore chiaroscuro was rediscovered in 1950 and is part of the collection of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, set in the Palazzo Barberini, in Rome.
The widow Judith first charms the Assyrian general Holofernes, then decapitates him in his tent.
The Book of Judith tells how Judith served her people by seducing and pleasuring Holofernes, the Assyrian general. Judith got Holofernes drunk, then seized her sword and slayed him: "Approaching to his bed, she took hold of the hair of his head." (Judith, 13:7-8).
Caravaggio choose the moment of greatest dramatic impact, the moment of the decapitation itself. The figures are set out in a shallow stage, theatrically lit from the side, isolated against the inky, black background. Judith and her maid Abra stand to the right, partially over Holofernes, who is vulnerable on his back. The faces of the three characters demonstrate his mastery of emotion, Judith in particular showing a mix of determination and repulsion. Many were deeply influenced by this work, and even surpassed Caravaggio's physical realism, but none matched his capture of Judith's psychological ambivalence.
The model for Judith is probably the Roman courtesan Fillide Melandroni, who posed for several other works by Caravaggio around this year; the scene itself, and especially the details of blood and decapitation, were presumably drawn from his observations of the public execution of Beatrice Cenci a few years before.
More amazing paintings one copy-paste away at https://weston-westmoreland.pixels.com/collections/paintings
Weston Westmoreland.
Uploaded
November 23rd, 2017
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