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| Title | Judith with the Head of Holofernes | |
| Collection | Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust | |
| Artist | After Saraceni, Carlo (Italian painter, ca. 1579-1620) Previously attributed to Saraceni, Carlo (Italian painter, ca. 1579-1620) |
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| Date Earliest | about 1610 | |
| Date Latest | possibly about 1620 | |
| Description | The subject is taken from the Apocryphal book of Judith in the Old Testament, and narrates the story of Judith, who saved her city of Bethulia from the siege of Holofernes, general of the Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar. Judith killed Holofernes after a banquet at which he had been made drunk, beheading him and showing his head to her fellow citizens (Judith 10-13). This painting, which shows Judith as she holds Holofernes' head in front of an old woman, is one of many versions painted by Saraceni. Scholars now agree that Saraceni himself painted only a few, slightly different, versions of Judith with the Head of Holofernes, and that the popularity of the subject led other artists to paint many copies from the originals. This painting clearly shows the influence of Caravaggio, especially in the monumentality of the figures and in the subtle use of light effects. | |
| Current Accession Number | 3778 | |
| Subject | religion (Judith and Holofernes) | |
| Measurements | 92.7 x 77 cm.0 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Purchased from Lord Halifax sale, Christies, 1970, lot 143. | |
| Provenance | Rt. Hon. The Earl of Halifax sale, Christie's, 17 July 1970, lot 143. | |
| Publications | Ottani Cavina, A., Carlo Saraceni, Milan, 1968, pp.125-127; Spear, R. E., From Caravaggio to Artemisia. Essays on Painting in Seventeenth-Century Italy and France, London, 2002, see pp. 265-288. | |
| Notes | Scholars have found numerous versions of this Judith with the Head of Holofernes. Spear (From Caravaggio to Artemisia. Essays on Painting in Seventeenth-Century Italy and France, London, 2002, pp. 272-275) most recently affirmed that only three are the by Carlo Saraceni's hand: the painting in the Longhi Collection in Florence; the painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna; and the painting in the Manfredi Collection in Milan. For a full list of the many existing versions see Ottani Cavina, Carlo Saraceni, Milan, 1968. | |
| Rights Owner | Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust | |
| Author | Irene Galandra | |