Italian school; XVIII century.

Italian school; XVIII century.
"Judith with the head of Holofernes".
Oil on canvas.
Preserves original canvas.
It has frame of c. 1850.
Measurements: 120 x 94.5 cm; 134 x 108 cm (frame).
This painting of the XVIII century, belonging to the Italian school, represents the biblical episode of Judith and Holofernes with a composition of strong dramatism and a masterful use of the chiaroscuro, characteristic of the baroque tradition. The protagonist, Judith, is in the foreground, dressed in a luxurious blue robe and a golden mantle with rich, well-defined textures. Her expression is serene, yet charged with a slight melancholy, adding psychological depth to the scene.
The composition follows a pyramidal arrangement, with Judith as the central axis of the work. Her gaze, slightly lost, contrasts with the crudeness of the act she has just committed. Her hand rests on the decapitated head of Holofernes, whose face shows signs of agony and death. The white cloth on the table reinforces the drama, highlighting the blood and violence implicit in the scene.
The dark background and the hallmarks of light recall the influence of Caravaggio and his tenebrism, a technique widely adopted by Italian Baroque painters. The light falls directly on Judith, highlighting her pale skin and expression, making her the focus of attention. In her right hand, she holds a still stained dagger, proof of the heroic act narrated in the Old Testament.
The story of this Hebrew widow, in the midst of Israel's war against the Babylonian army, erroneously called Assyrian. With beautiful features, high education and enormous piety, religious zeal and patriotic passion, Judith discovers that the invading general, Holofernes, has fallen in love with her. Accompanied by her maid, the widow descends from her walled city besieged by the foreign army and, deceiving the soldier into believing she is in love with him, manages to enter his tent. Once there, instead of yielding to his gallant claims, she intoxicates him. When Holofernes falls asleep, Judith cuts off his head, sowing confusion in the Babylonian army and thus obtaining victory for Israel. This is a frequent theme in the history of art, mainly from the Baroque period onwards. While in the Baroque period the drama and the bloody depiction of the story were expressly sought, and hence the moment of the beheading was generally chosen, in the Neoclassical period a more tempered and epic aesthetic is preferred, as we see here.