Judith Beheading Holofernes: Analyzing Artemesia Gentileschi and Caravaggio

 Artemisa Gentileschi Judith Beheading Holofernes (1611-12)

Caravaggio Judith Beheading Holofernes (1598-99)

Judith Beheading Holofernes

Analyzing Artemesia Gentileschi and Caravaggio

               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 16^th and 17^th 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.