Artwork
Judith and Holofernes
Judith and Holofernes is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1530 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. The canvas captures the climactic instant from the biblical tale of Judith, who confronts the Assyrian general Holofernes.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This imagery serves as a powerful symbol of virtue triumphing over tyranny and the deliverance of the Jewish people through the bravery of a single woman.
The artwork depicts the biblical narrative of Judith and Holofernes, a classic subject in religious art. The composition centers on the figure of Judith, who is shown with the severed head of Holofernes, illustrating the moment of her victory over the Assyrian general. This imagery serves as a powerful symbol of virtue triumphing over tyranny and the deliverance of the Jewish people through the bravery of a single woman.
As a religious painting from around 1530, the work functions as an allegory of moral strength and divine intervention.
Technique & Style
The work is classified as a painting executed on a vertical panel measuring 61.5 cm in height by 39.2 cm in width. Its small, upright format and religious genre place it within the conventions of mid-16th-century devotional panels from the Danube region. The composition centers on the subject of Judith and the beheaded head of Holofernes, treated as the painting's main subject.
Stylistically, the work is associated with the Donauländisch (Danube School) tradition active around 1530, a milieu known for expressive religious imagery. The painting is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek.
History & Provenance
Judith and Holofernes was created in 1530 by a Danube School artist active around that date. The painting entered the Bavarian State Painting Collections, where it is held and exhibited at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. No further details of commission, intermediate ownership, or acquisition history are documented in the available sources.
The work is catalogued as a religious painting dating to 1530, with physical dimensions of 61.5 cm in height and 39.2 cm in width.
The painting is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is displayed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Dated to 1530, the work measures 61.5 cm in height by 39.2 cm in width. No specific inventory or accession number, and no exhibition history, are recorded in the available sources.
Overview
The canvas captures the climactic instant from the biblical tale of Judith, who confronts the Assyrian general Holofernes. A richly dressed woman raises a sword toward the general’s throat while surrounding figures react with alarm. The setting is a temporary shelter amid a forested landscape, with distant mountains framing the scene.
Context
The scene reflects a longstanding artistic tradition of depicting Judith’s story, popular in both religious and secular art from the Renaissance onward. By situating the episode within a naturalistic woodland and a makeshift encampment, the artist links the biblical episode to contemporary settings, inviting viewers to relate the moral conflict to their own era.
Artist & collection
- Judith with the Head of Holifernes
Martyrium des hl. Florian (Rückseite: Unterer Teil eines Schmerzensmannes)
Coriolan lässt sich von seiner Familie bereden
The Tiburtine Sibyl
Enthauptung der hl. Katharina (?)
The beheading of John the Baptist
Christ Preaching on the Sea of Galilee
The Holy Family with St Anne and Young St John the Baptist
Flusslandschaft
Lots Flucht (Kopie nach)
Beheading of John the Baptist
Beheading of Saint John the Baptist