User:AloGamora/sandbox/Judith and Her Maidservant (Detroit)
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Judith and Her Maidservant is one of three paintings by the Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi that depicts the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes.[1] This particular work, executed in the 1620s, now hangs in the Detroit Institute of Arts.[2] 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 wrapping the severed head in a bag, moments after the murder, while Judith keeps watch. The other two paintings of this subject were completed earlier in her career, and are now shown in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples and the Musee de la Castre, Cannes.[3]
Judith and her Maidservant | |
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![]() Artemisia Gentileschi - Judith and Her Maidservant | |
Artist | Artemisia Gentileschi |
Year | c. 1623–1625 |
Medium | oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 72.44 cm × 55.75 cm (28.52 in × 21.95 in) |
Location | Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit |
The beheading and overall representation of the female figures in the composition have been speculated to be connected in some way to the artist, herself.[4] The 2001 catalogue related to the exhibition of Artemisia Gentileschi and her father Orazio remarked that "the painting is generally recognized as Artemisia's finest work".[1]