  About the Artwork
  
  
  This impressive composition was made by Artemisia Gentileschi, the first woman to become a member of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence. Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes represents the aftermath of the episode in the Jewish Bible in which the brave widow Judith, aided by her maidservant, kills the Assyrian enemy general Holofernes to save Israel. In Gentileschi’s canvas — executed with a directness that sets it apart from many contemporary renditions of the same subject — Judith still brandishes a sword and appears to pause in alarm; Holofernes’s decapitated head lies at her feet. The theatrical, intense lighting of the scene echoes the work of Michelangelo da Caravaggio. However, in its naturalism and clear sympathy for the fear and apprehension of its female protagonists, this painting is entirely unique to Artemisia herself.
  
  
  Title
  Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca.1623-1625
  
  Artist
  Artemisia Gentileschi
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1593-1653 (?)
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Italian
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Oil on canvas
  
  
  Dimensions
  Unframed: 73 11/16 × 55 7/8 × 1 5/16 inches (187.2 × 142 × 3.3 cm)
  Framed: 90 1/2 × 72 1/2 × 8 1/2 inches (229.9 × 184.2 × 21.6 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  European Painting
  
  
  Credit
  Gift of Mr. Leslie H. Green
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  52.253
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
