The Return of Judith to Bethulia (Italian: Ritorno di Giuditta a Betulia) is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist, Sandro Botticelli. It was made around the year 1472, and preserved in the Uffizi in Florence.
This small format tempera on panel (31 × 24 cm; 12 x 9.4 in) painting and its pendant, The Discovery of the Body of Holofernes , both kept at the Uffizi in Florence, illustrate related biblical episodes from the deuterocanonical and apocryphal Book of Judith: the aftermath of the decapitation of the Assyrian general Holofernes by a young and beautiful Jewish widow, Judith; and, in this panel, her triumphant return to Bethulia with the severed head.
Judith as reported in the Book of Judith and in more detail in later Christian iconography, killed Holofernes to save the Jewish people from the Assyrian conquerors. [1]
Scholars agree on the attribution to Botticelli, as an early work, but are divided as to its dating. Stylistic comparison of the face of Judith with that of the central figure in Botticelli's Fortitude, an allegorical painting representing this virtue and commissioned in 1470, argues for an earlier execution: i.e. at the end of the 1460s or early 1470s. [2]
Similarities with the works of Antonio del Pollaiolo generally lead scholars to opt for a dating around 1470 or 1472; although Sergio Bettini dates its creation slightly earlier, to between 1467 and 1468, and notes an influence from Mantegna, who was in Florence in the immediately preceding years. [3]
The two small panels on the story of Judith and Holofernes, which are now in the Uffizi Gallery (Nos. 1156 and 1158), are mentioned by Raffaelle Borghini in his Riposo, a work written early in the eighteenth century, and described in the following words: "Two little pictures: in one of which Holofernes is represented, lying in bed with his head cut off, and his barons standing around in amazement, and in the other Judith with the head in a sack. These belonged not long ago to M. Ridolfo Sirigatti, and he gave them to the most Serene lady Bianca Capello dei Medici, our Grand Duchess, hearing that Her Highness wished to adorn a writing cabinet with pictures and antique statues, and judging this little work of Botticelli worthy of a place there." [4] Bequeathed to his son Antoine de Medici by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the two paintings are listed, between 1587 and 1632, the year of their entry into the collections of the Uffizi, in the inventory of the Casino Mediceo di San Marco. [5] As this inventory specifies, a walnut frame brought them together, thus constituting a diptych. The documents are missing to confirm that this arrangement was the one originally planned by the painter or the sponsor.
Judith is shown clad in rich apparel, or, as the sacred text describes, "in her garments of gladness", bravely decked with bracelets and chains and ornaments, returning from the camp of the Assyrians across the mountains to Bethulia, strong in the might of the great deliverance that she has wrought for Israel. [4] Her right hand holds the sword with which she has severed the neck of Holofernes; in her left she bears an olive-branch, the token of peace, as she walks lightly and swiftly across the open hillside, followed by her faithful handmaiden Abra, carrying the bottle of wine and cruse of oil in one hand, and the head of Holofernes in the sack on her head. [6] In the valley below, on the banks of a broad river, we see the walls and gates of the city and the groups of armed horsemen riding out to meet her. [7] The figure of Judith bears a strong likeness to the Fortitude . [7] She has the same long neck, high cheek bones, and peculiar type of feature. [7] Her eyes have the same wistful look; her countenance wears the same expression of gentle sadness, and forms a striking contrast to the eager, intent air of her serving-maid, whose gaze is fixed in silent devotion on the mistress for whose sake she has dared to meet danger and death. [7]
Considered an autograph work by the painter and representative of a phase of preparation or study of this panel, [8] an earlier version of this episode was executed around 1468–1469; of a slightly smaller format (29.2 × 21.6 cm), it is now kept at the Cincinnati Museum of Art.
The subject was again broached by Botticelli during the last period of his activity with Judith Leaving the Tent of Holofernes, which is preserved in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In a darker tone, the painting depicts Judith emerging from the Assyrian general's tent, holding his severed head in one hand and her unsheathed scimitar in the other.
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli or simply Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered by the Pre-Raphaelites who stimulated a reappraisal of his work. Since then, his paintings have been seen to represent the linear grace of late Italian Gothic and some Early Renaissance painting, even though they date from the latter half of the Italian Renaissance period.
The Birth of Venus is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea fully-grown. The painting is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian Old Testament of the Bible but excluded from the Hebrew canon and assigned by Protestants to the apocrypha. It tells of a Jewish widow, Judith, who uses her beauty and charm to kill an Assyrian general who has besieged her city, Bethulia. With this act, she saves nearby Jerusalem from total destruction. The name Judith, meaning "praised" or "Jewess", is the feminine form of Judah.
Pallas and the Centaur is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, c. 1482. It is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It has been proposed as a companion piece to his Primavera, though it is a different shape. The medium used is tempera paints on canvas and its size is 207 x 148 cm. The painting has been retouched in many places, and these retouchings have faded.
Judith is an opera in five acts, composed by Alexander Serov during 1861–1863. Derived from renditions of the story of Judith from the Old Testament Apocrypha, the Russian libretto, though credited to the composer, has a complicated history. The premiere took place in 1863 in Saint Petersburg. This stage debut, supplemented with his next opera Rogneda, made Serov the most important Russian opera composer of the 1860s.
Judith of Bethulia (1914) is an American film starring Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall, and produced and directed by D. W. Griffith, based on the play "Judith and the Holofernes" (1896) by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, which itself was an adaptation of the Book of Judith. The film was the first feature-length film made by pioneering film company Biograph, although the second that Biograph released.
Fortitude is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, finished in 1470. Housed in the Galleria degli Uffizi, in Florence, Italy, Fortitude was the first recorded masterpiece by Botticelli.
The account of the beheading of Holofernes by Judith is given in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is able to enter the tent of Holofernes because of his desire for her. Holofernes was an Assyrian general who was about to destroy Judith's home, the city of Bethulia. Overcome with drink, he passes out and is decapitated by Judith; his head is taken away in a basket.
Judith Slaying Holofernes is a painting by the Italian early Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, completed in 1612-13 and now at the Museo Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
The Calumny of Apelles is a panel painting in tempera by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. Based on the description of a lost ancient painting by Apelles, the work was completed in about 1494–95, and is now in the Uffizi, Florence.
Judith with the Head of Holofernes is an Italian Renaissance painting attributed to Andrea Mantegna or to a follower of his, possibly Giulio Campagnola. Painted in tempera in around 1495 or 1500, it depicts the common artistic subject of Judith beheading Holofernes.
Primavera is a large panel painting in tempera paint by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli made in the late 1470s or early 1480s. It has been described as "one of the most written about, and most controversial paintings in the world", and also "one of the most popular paintings in Western art".
Judith is an oratorio composed by Thomas Arne with words by the librettist, Isaac Bickerstaffe. It was first performed on 27 February 1761 at Drury Lane Theatre. It depicts the story of Judith, taken from the Book of Judith of the Old Testament. It was first published in 1761 and republished with edits in 1764. The piece is divided into three acts, with a total of 28 movements including nine choruses, two duets, an overture, and 16 arias.
Judith and Holofernes may refer to:
Judith and her Maidservant is a c. 1615 painting by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. The painting depicts Judith and her maidservant leaving the scene where they have just beheaded general Holofernes, whose head is in the basket carried by the maidservant. It hangs in the Pitti Palace, Florence.
Judith and Her Maidservant is one of four paintings by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi that depicts the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes. This particular work, executed in about 1623 to 1625, now hangs in the Detroit Institute of Arts. The narrative is taken from the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, in which Judith seduces and then murders the general Holofernes. This precise moment illustrates the maidservant Abra wrapping the severed head in a bag, moments after the murder, while Judith keeps watch. The other three paintings are now shown in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and the Musée de la Castre in Cannes.
Scenes from the Life of Saint Zenobius is a series of paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Four panels from the series survive, which are now in three different museums. Each depicts three or more incidents from the life of Zenobius, an early Bishop of Florence who perhaps died in 417. The works are all in tempera on wood, and around 66 cm (26 in) high, though their length varies rather more, from about 149 to 182 cm.
Judith Slaying Holofernes c. 1620, now at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, is the renowned painting by Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi depicting the assassination of Holofernes from the apocryphal Book of Judith. When compared to her earlier interpretation from Naples c. 1612, there are subtle but marked improvements to the composition and detailed elements of the work. These differences display the skill of a cultivated Baroque painter, with the adept use of chiaroscuro and realism to express the violent tension between Judith, Abra, and the dying Holofernes.
Judith with the Head of Holofernes is an oil painting by Titian, made in about 1570, which hangs in the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The Discovery of the Body of Holofernes, also titled The Finding of the Dead Holofernes, is an early painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli, dated to about 1472.
Attribution: