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Seduction and Female Power in an Intense Painting: Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi
Compelling storytelling by a remarkable artist
This painting is dramatic and bloody. It is also brilliantly complicated.
It depicts the climactic moment of Judith and Holofernes, as recounted in the Old Testament and later expanded in apocryphal writings.
Dressed in gold, Judith is a wealthy widow from the Jewish city of Bethulia. She lived at a time when her people were besieged by the Assyrian army. With the city on the brink of surrender, hope seemed lost. The Assyrians were commanded by the menacing general Holofernes, whom Judith devised a daring plan to overthrow.
Pretending to betray her people, she crossed into enemy lines. Enchanted by her beauty, Holofernes welcomed her, hosting a lavish banquet before leading her to his private chambers. Drunk with desire and heavy with wine, he fell into a stupor. Seizing her chance, Judith drew his sword and, with the help of her maid, made two decisive strokes, severing his head.
She concealed the grisly prize in a sack, then slipped back to Bethulia. When the head of Holofernes was revealed, panic swept through the Assyrian ranks, and the invading army collapsed in chaos, retreating in defeat.
