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| Judith Slaying Holofernes Wiki Commons |
Considered today to be one of the most accomplished painters in the
Baroque generation after Caravaggio, Artemisia
Gentileschi’s skill in displayed in her 1620 work, Judith Beheading Holofernes. Raised in an era where female artists
were not accepted as painters, their acceptance into guilds non-existent, Gentileschi
was trained by her father, a follower of Caravaggio. This influence is most
exhibited in her large-scale subjects with strong light and darks. Her
best-known image, Judith Beheading
Holofernes, depicts the decapitation of Assyrian general, Holofernes by
Judith, a beautiful widow. Gentileschi depicted this subject six different
times
Judith’s figure takes on an almost stiff
stance with her arms held at straight angles out in front of her, both wielding
a sword and cutting into the neck of Holofernes. Her maid stands at her left,
holding down the arms of the flailing general. Holofernes himself lies in the
bottom left of the picture plane, his body foreshortened perfectly and blood
spurting out of his neck. Together the three
figures form a triangle of sorts, illuminated by a strong, unidentified light
coming from the lower left-hand side. The light is extremely
Caravaggio-esque, as is the non-existent background. Overall, the skill that is
displayed in the rendering of the figures, especially as exhibited in the
proportions, truly sets Gentileschi a part from her contemporaries, making her
one of the best Baroque painters.
