- Andrea Mantegna, Judith with the Head of Holofernes (1490s), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
- Andrea Mantegna, Judith with the Head of Holofernes , National Gallery of Ireland
Judith and Holofernes | |
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Artist | Andrea Mantegna or a follower (possibly Giulio Campagnola) |
Year | c. 1495/1500 |
Type | Tempera with gold and silver on panel |
Dimensions | 30.6 cm× 19.7 cm(12.0 in× 7.8 in) |
Location | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
Judith with the Head of Holofernes is an Italian Renaissance painting attributed to Andrea Mantegna or to a follower of his, possibly Giulio Campagnola. [1] Painted in tempera in around 1495 or 1500, it depicts the common artistic subject of Judith beheading Holofernes.
The painting has been dated through comparison with similar grisaille panels with Old Testament subjects which Mantegna produced around 1495 and 1500.
The work was perhaps included in the Gonzaga collection acquired by Charles I of England in 1628. Given to William Herbert, 6th Earl of Pembroke, it was inherited by his heirs until it was sold in London in 1917. After a series of different owners, it was acquired in New York City by Joseph E. Widener in 1923. In 1942, it was donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
In a relatively serene interpretation of the theme, Judith is portrayed standing under the pink tent of Holofernes (whose foot can be seen on the right) immediately after beheading him, still holding the blade. She is dropping the head into a sack held by a maid. The composition also appears in Mantegna's grisaille paintings of this subject in Dublin and in Montreal, and a drawing in the Gabinetto dei disegni e delle stampe of the Uffizi.
The panel has brilliant and variegated colors, resembling a miniature. The ground, painted in diagonal perspective, is composed of stone and earth slabs, some of which are out of position. It is painted with tempera with gold and silver.
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Salome, or possibly Judith with the Head of Holofernes, is an oil painting which is an early work by the Venetian painter of the late Renaissance, Titian. It is usually thought to represent Salome with the head of John the Baptist. It is usually dated to around 1515 and is now in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome. Like other paintings of this subject, it has sometimes been considered to represent Judith with the head of Holofernes, the other biblical incident found in art showing a female and a severed male head. Historically, the main figure has also been called Herodias, the mother of Salome.
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Judith and Holofernes may refer to:
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