Baroque Era Judith Beheading

 

Judith Beheading Holofernes painted around 1598-1599, or 1602 by well-known Baroque Artist, Caravaggio.


This image almost immediately captured my attention, when searching for Baroque art for this assignment. The artist, Caravaggio frequently painted Biblical scenes as a response to the Council of Trent("The Council Of Trent And The Call To Reform Art – Smarthistory"). When this painting was done, it was meant to capture a story from the Book of Judith, though through some research I don't believe this book is associated with the bible now. It isn't for Christians, but may be for some Catholics, the answer wasn't very clear to me. 

The story of Judith and background of this image was Judith the widow used her beauty to seduce and stay with the Assyrian general Holofernes and slayed him, to serve her people helping save the Israel from oppression of the Assyrians. 

As I said, this image immediately captured my attention; mainly for the emotion portrayed and lighting illuminating Judith. The way she is so bright, I recognize she is supposed to be the survivor or angelic like figure in this painting. Her facial expression is determined, almost disgusted, but happy to have completed the task. The tone, shadows and expression of the male, Holofernes make it seem as though he was expecting this but still feels betrayal, surprise. The artist also captures the advantage Judith has over him, Holofernes is clearly in a vulnerable position. Personally, I wouldn't want this in my home but it is a interesting painting.


References

"Baroque Art - The Key Artists And Paintings Of The Baroque Period". Artincontext.Org, 2022, https://artincontext.org/baroque-art/.

"Judith Beheading Holofernes". Artble, https://www.artble.com/artists/caravaggio/paintings/judith_beheading_holofernes.

"The Council Of Trent And The Call To Reform Art – Smarthistory". Smarthistory.Org, https://smarthistory.org/the-council-of-trent-and-the-call-to-reform-art/#:~:text=Pick%20up%20most%20art%20history%20textbooks%20and%20you,decades%20of%20art%20%28c.%201560%E2%80%931590%29%20and%20artists%20overlooked.

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