Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi) (Ferrara 1481 - Ferrara 1559)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1501 - 1550
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
334 x 269 mm
Place of origin
Ferrara
Order this imageCollection
Knole, Kent
NT 129843
Summary
Oil painting on panel, Judith with the Head of Holofernes by Garofalo (Ferrara 1481 - Ferrara 1559). Judith full-length centre, dressed in a red robe, her right leg exposed, holding aloft the head of Holofernes in her left hand, a sword in her right hand, her maidservant is standing on the left, dressed in black with white head-covering, pointing upwards with the fore-finger of her right hand. On the right distant view a tented encampment with far horizon and overcast sky. The subject depicted is told in the Old Testament apocryphal Book of Judith (13: 6-10). She became the heroine of the Jews in their struggle against oppression. She gained entry into the camp of Nebuchadnezzar's Assyrian general, Holofernes, pretending to offer assistance in the siege of the city of Bethulia in Judah. He has been decapitated by her with his own sword or scimitar after he had fallen asleep drunk following a large banquet.
Provenance
On loan from the Trustees of the Sackville Estate
Credit line
Knole, The Sackville Collection
Makers and roles
Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi) (Ferrara 1481 - Ferrara 1559), artist