Object Image

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

The Jewish heroine Judith saved her city of Bethulia when it was besieged by the Assyrians. Sneaking behind enemy lines, she feigned loyalty to the Assyrian general Holofernes, who became enamored of her. After a banquet, when he was weak with drink, she beheaded him. Giovan Gioseffo dal Sole depicts Judith after the slaying, when she triumphantly entered Behulia's city gates to display the head of the vanquished enemy to her fellow Israelites. The artist represents Judith as a brave and sensual heroine. Looking directly at the spectator, she calmly brandishes a sword in one hand and gestures with the other to Holofernes' decapitated head, held in a sack by her maidservant. Judith's powers of s...
c. 1695
Oil on canvas
43.0 x 35.5in
77.24
Image and text courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2022

Where you'll find this

Minneapolis Institute of Art
Permanent collection