Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656) Judith Beheading Holofernes and The Annunciation, at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples

Artemisia Gentileschi “Judith Beheading Holofernes”

Painting – Oil on canvas (159 x 126 cm) 1612–1613

The painting depicts the harrowing moment when Judith cuts off the head of the Assyrian general Holofernes.

Whilst her faithful maid Abra holds Holofernes’ left arm with both hands, Judith cuts off his head.

Judith and Holofernes Holofernes reacted by clutching the neckline of Abra’s shirt in his right hand, but he is already unable to push her away and his hand simply remains clenched on the edge of the garment whilst his gaze clouds over and fades.

The faces of Abra and Judith express their shared determination to carry out their mission without the slightest hesitation, and without fear of the blood spurting from Holofernes’ neck.

Judith clutches Holofernes’ hair in her left fist whilst holding his head firmly pressed against the bed.

With her right hand, in a bold and confident gesture, she cleaves her enemy’s head clean off without wavering, as shown by the way she grips the hilt of the deadly sword firmly.

The beauty and serenity of the two women dressed in red and blue contrast with the horror of the scene.

An effect reinforced by superb chiaroscuro in the style of Caravaggio, executed by Artemisia Gentileschi.

Artemisia Gentileschi “Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes”

Painting – Oil on canvas (272 x 221 cm) 1645–1650

Judith and her maid Abra have just murdered General Holofernes by beheading him.

They must now leave the enemy’s military camp as quickly as possible to return to Bethulia and announce the good news to its inhabitants. But before that, they want to take with them their trophy: the general’s head.

Abra is on her knees, wrapping Holofernes’ head in a cloth, whilst Judith, still holding the sword with which she severed their enemy’s head, prepares to blow out the candle that is lighting their way.

The glow of the candle brightly illuminates half of Judith’s face and upper body, whilst Abra is bathed in the same light, which sculpts their bodies and highlights the folds of their clothing to perfection.

As in her painting depicting Judith beheading Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi has once again masterfully employed chiaroscuro to convey the emotional power of the scene.

Judith, with Holofernes’ head

Artemisia Gentileschi’s ‘Annunciation’

Painting – Oil on canvas (257 x 179 cm) 1630

This Annunciation by Artemisia Gentileschi depicts Mary standing before the angel kneeling at her feet, as in Botticelli’s Cestello Annunciation and that by Leonardo da Vinci, both on display at the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence.

Only Tintoretto’s Annunciation, painted for the Scuola Grande San Rocco in Venice, depicts the angel still in flight above Mary.

Artemisia Gentileschi, The Annunciation, Capodimonte Museum, Naples, Italy