The biblical scene of Judith slaying Holofernes has been depicted many times throughout history:
Donatello, Botticelli, Giorgione, Michelangelo,
all the way to one of Francisco de Goya’s Black paintings and to Gustav Klimt.
The story goes as follows:
The Assyrian general Holofernes was about to invade Bethulia,
a city in which Judith lived. To prevent the invasion, Judith seduced Holofernes,
made him drink and, during his sleep, she beheaded him:
“She came closer, seized Holofernes by the hair of his head, and said,
O Lord, God of Israel, give me strength now. Then Judith raised the sword and struck him
twice in the neck as hard as she could, chopping off his head.” Judith 13:7-8
During the baroque period, this scene has notably been painted by two very
popular painters: Artemisia Gentileschi and Caravaggio.
Let’s first focus on Gentileschi’s painting.
This isn’t Gentileschi’s only depiction of that story. In fact, many different versions showing
different scenes were painted. We’ll look at her first 1611-1612 version.
The beheading is, of course, extremely violent. Judith and her servant are holding Holofernes
down, Judith grabbing his hair and cutting his throat. His bed is already drenched in
blood and you see his final moments, trying to fight off his assailants. The general is
much bigger than the two women, which shows how much of a threat he is. While Judith’s
hand looks tiny next to his head, his hand looks almost as big as the servant’s face.
The dynamic composition really conveys the energy and force which is used by
both parties. The leading lines all point towards Holofernes’ head and this just adds
to the impression that a lot of weight is being directed towards him to pin him down.
And, of course, there’s a very strong contrast between light and dark, or,
in one word, chiaroscuro. An artist known for his mastery of chiaroscuro
is Caravaggio. Let’s now look at his take on Judith Slaying Holofernes.
It’s a lot less violent. Not as much force is being used here. The servant is but a
mere witness to the events. Judith, on the other hand, is not a witness,
but she almost looks like it. She’s not applying any force and her face looks puzzled and
confused rather than heroic. There’s a strange separation between the left side of the canvas,
filled with action and drama; and the right side, more graceful and delicate.
Why does one show a woman killing with power and strength while the other shows
a woman killing reluctantly. Many will say that it’s because the former painting,
the one showing female strength and unity, was painted by a female. In fact,
it was painted by one of the only females to be allowed to paint at that time.
Artemisia Gentileschi had the privilege to have a father who was an artist. In fact,
Orazio Gentileschi was a friend of Caravaggio. He would encourage his
daughter to paint and even got her a tutor, the painter Agostino Tassi.
Without much surprise, competing in a male-dominated art world as a female was
extremely difficult, especially in 17th century Italy. Artemisia will have a hard time getting
recognized for her work and, when she was still a teen, she got raped by her tutor, Agostino Tassi.
Her father will denounce him and a 7 month trial was held in Rome. It sadly brought Gentileschi
to everybody’s attention. The transcripts of the trial are still available today and
they are infuriating. Tassi was convicted of rape, yet was still set free because of
his connections with the people in power. Tassi was known to be an awful human being and even
Pope Innocent X was quoted saying: “Tassi is the only one of these artists who has
never disappointed me.” Why? Because he never claimed to be honourable in the first place.
That same Innocent X will be painted over 300 years later by Francis Bacon. Last week,
we made a video about that exact painting.
Now, Gentileschi’s painting can be seen as a reaction to the omnipresence of male violence
that she was confronted with. Interestingly enough, this isn’t her only work that answers to
male violence. Salome with the head of Saint John Baptist, Jael and Sisera, Samson and Delilah...
All of these stories, which Gentileschi chose to represent, are examples of women overpowering men.
Artemisia Gentileschi was able to make a name for herself in Italy’s 17th century
art world. She was respected not only because she overcame the obstacles that were put in her way,
but because she was able to use these obstacles as fuel for her art. She was
able to channel the negative emotions into her art, making it extremely personal and powerful.