Judith Beheading Holofernes: Analyzing Artemesia Gentileschi and Caravaggio
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There is something about a justified and violent revenge,
where you don’t feel guilty by thinking, “Well, he deserved it.” A well-traversed
revenge subject of Biblical origin from the Old Testament is the story of
Judith killing Holofernes, a Babylonian general who almost took the ancient
city of Bethulia until the widow Judith seduced him, got him drunk, and then cut
off his head. Thus, providing victory for the Hebrews. It is a violent act depicted in many paintings by artists in the 16th and 17th
centuries. Two such artists are Caravaggio and Artemesia Gentileschi. Caravaggio
has a history with the Gentileschi family, being that Artemisia and her father,
Orazio, were both followers of Caravaggio. Orazio Gentileschi was one of Caravaggio’s
greatest followers (Chadwick, 2020, p 39). The use of shadow and light is prevalent
in both Artemesia Gentileschi’s Judith Beheading Holofernes (1611-12)
and Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes (1598-9). You can see that
they both use Chiaroscuro in their forms to create a narrative of what is
happening in the scene. Both paintings have dark backgrounds that create a
negative space to bring focus to the scene in the foreground. This also shows
that this act is being done somewhere dark and private. This creates a sense of
tension in the paintings. Each painting has three focal
points, the main one being Holofernes’s head being decapitated and then
Judith and her maidservant.
While
the paintings have similarities, such as the use of Chiaroscuro,
there are quite a few differences between the two works. Caravaggio has a
reputation as being a bad boy and was even convicted of murdering a man, which
caused him to flee from Rome. He then settled in Latium, Naples, and Malta while
receiving commissions until his untimely death due to a fever (Baldasso, 2022).
Caravaggio has a history of violence, and it is reflected in his work. In his
version of Judith Beheading Holofernes, the blood is violently spraying toward
the viewer in vivid red, which is emphasized by the vivid red fabric in
the background. The act of the beheading is violent, but the way Caravaggio paints
the scene is typical of the way a man at that time would depict women.
Holofernes is just lying there gripping the sheet while Judith cuts off his
head without much struggle. Judith has a look of contemplation but is more
submissive when compared to Gentileschi’s depiction. The white of her clothing
has no blood on it, which shows that this would have been a death with no
struggle. This could also represent her innocence and chastity. Judith’s maidservant
is an old woman, a crone, who holds the bag just waiting. Perhaps she means death, and her presence sanctions this violent act.
Gentileschi’s
Judith Beheading Holofernes is different in many ways, partially because
it is used to channel Gentileschi’s trauma of being raped by one of her father’s
art assistants, Agostino Tassi. Caravaggio killed a man, and nothing happened
to him. The rape of Gentileschi was a very public trial that included torture of
her, not the assailant. She was, in a sense, also on trial, based on a moralist
view of how women should behave in 17th-century Italy. She lost her virginity, spoke
out at her trial, and defended herself while tortured (course notes, 2023).
She could still have a career and her social standing restored. The trauma of this event can be seen in her
painting. In a time when women are depicted in a more submissive form, the two
women are forcefully holding down and cutting off Holofernes’s head. The scene
is much more realistic to me. Like Caravaggio's version, someone will not lie
there while their head is cut off. These women are working hard to make it
happen. You can see the tense muscles in Judith's arm as she is performing the
act. Even though Caravaggio has a history of violence, Gentileschi’s painting
is much more violent in nature. Gentileschi’s painting is active and depicts
movement and struggle. The maidservant is actively holding down the struggling
Holofernes. Gentileschi depicted Judith as a heroic heroine who challenges the
view of women being passive. She uses the same style of Chiaroscuro as Caravaggio
in framing the scene. The dark background creates a sense of “psychological and
physical tension” (Hickson, 2022). She has created a scene that lacks the
active male spectator and the submissive female participant (Chadwick, 2022, p.
41).
Even
with Gentileschi's trauma, she was a very well sought out artist with many notable commissions during her career. She was an exceptional artist
of her time who could work in a male-dominated world. She Challenged the gender
norms of her time.
References
Baldasso, R. (2022). Caravaggio. Salem Press Biographical
Encyclopedia.
Chadwick, W. (2020). Women,
Art, and Society (Sixth) (World of Art) (6th ed.). W. W. Norton. https://tiffin-bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780500775967
Gentileschi, A. (1511-12). Judith Beheading Holofernes [Painting]. Tiffin University ART624_90 Week Four Course Notes: 16th and 17th Century Case Studies. (tiffihttps://online.tiffin.edu/mod/book/view.php?id=1443970&chapterid=4848n.edu)
Hickson, S. A. (2022). Artemisia Gentileschi. Salem Press
Biographical Encyclopedia.
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