Judith of Bethulia’s once-shunned heroism is the topic of Renaissance works at SLAM

In Giorgio Vasari’s classical painting, a muscular woman raises a sword high in her right hand. With her left, she dominates a sleeping man, holding a fistful of silver hair in her tight grip. Dressed in a close-fitting bodice and elaborately bustled skirt, she prepares to relieve the man of his head. The woman portrayed is Judith of Bethulia, the heroine of a biblical epic. Her story was once excised from historic biblical texts for showcasing a powerful woman. Now, it is referenced regularly. The harrowing tale of Judith of Bethulia can be found in six works in SLAM’s collection. 

As written, Judith was a beautiful Jewish widow from the town of Bethulia. She courageously came to the rescue when General Holofernes—a proud and cruel warrior—and the Assyrian army laid siege to her city. Fortified by faith, Judith boldly infiltrated the Assyrian camp and accepted an invitation to dine with Holofernes. The general was captivated by her beauty. After dinner, Holofernes had fallen into a drunken stupor, and Judith seized the moment to behead him with the help of her maid, Abra. Judith was a shrewd strategist who, knowing that her beauty could be an effective tool to charm her opponent, outsmarted the Assyrian general and saved nearby Jerusalem and her own people, the Israelites of Bethulia. 

Once returned to her city, the heroine lived the rest of her days a widow, refusing the many marriage proposals she received from her countrymen. Judith was self-reliant from beginning to end, an unusual characteristic for women in the Old Testament. 

Author Bernadine Barnes wrote in the National Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue Eva/Ave: Woman in Renaissance and Baroque Prints that the representation of heroines presented a problem: “The heroine served not only as a symbol of power but also as an example to women, and the very virtues that make for heroic behavior are often antithetical to the virtues of the ideal woman.” The Book of Judith is absent from the Hebrew canon and was also designated to the Protestant Apocrypha, a collection of ancient books that are not accepted in the canon of scripture and do not appear in the Protestant Bible.

Despite attempts at erasure, the story of Judith is referenced often; her triumph and power can be seen across literature and visual media as well as in Renaissance and Baroque art in museums around the world.  

At SLAM, the heroine is featured in Luca Giordano’s early 18th century oil sketch and Vasari’s 16th century oil on panel. In the former, she is the victorious central figure holding the severed head of Holofernes above the Assyrian troops and rousing the dispirited people of Bethulia. In the latter, the artist emphasizes Judith’s physical strength. Vasari places her back to the viewer, and she wears a short sleeved, close-fitting bodice. Her strong arms and angled shoulders create lively diagonal lines that enhance her exaggerated musculature.  

These works are on view in David W. Mesker Gallery 204 and Shoenberg Gallery 236. There are four other works in SLAM’s collection that feature this subject: Female Nude (Study for Judith and Holofernes) by Max Beckmann, Judith with the Head of Holofernes by Martin Engelbrecht, Judith by Jacques Callot, and Judith with the Head of Holofernes by Giovanni Andrea Sirani. These are all prints that can viewed upon request in the Museum’s Print Study Room.