Christian Narratives in Art: Judith and Holofernes

Historical themes are prevalent in art. Especially, political and religious narratives dominated Europe, from Medieval times to the Renaissance. Christian topics were prevalent as well as Christian ideology and symbolism. Judith with the Head of Holofernes by Massimo Stanzione, an Italian artist, is an example of Christian Biblical stories illustrated in art.

Judith with the Head of Holofernes is an oil painting on canvas and measures a staggering 78.5 by 57.5 inches. The painting depicts a heroine, Judith, on a mission to decapitate the general of an enemy army planning to kill the Jews. In this Old Testament book, Judith is given the gory yet pivotal job of saving her people from slaughter. This story is commonly depicted in art. Well-known artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi, blank, and blank have adopted the tale of Judith and created many pictures based on it. The image of a strong woman has made her especially important to women and feminist artists. The two main scenes chosen are the act of Judith decapitating Holofernes and Judith with the head of Holofernes, after she has killed him. In Stanzione’s

The drapery itself is an implied texture, which can be taken even further. The implied heavy nature of the flowing layers of clothing covering Judith provide a smooth graceful movement which indicates that the fabric is moving with Judith although its heavy weight. The yellow fabric of Judith’s dress has an additional implied texture from the scrolling flor de le pattern on the material. The implied texture of the feathers and jewel in Judith’s head-wrap appear as symbols of importance, beauty, and wealth. The implied texture of Judith and her maidservant’s surroundings include rough, jagged, and broken rocks, which seem to have been constructed into some structure which has now fallen. The surroundings are a parallel to the fall of Holofernes and this army, all thanks to