Artemisia Gentileschi - Judith slaying Holofernes

• Title: Judith slaying Holofernes
• Artist: Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656)
• Date: c.1614-20
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 199 x 163 cm

Artemisia Gentileschi’s depiction of Judith beheading Holofernes is similar yet different to Caravaggio’s. The composition is different with the servant assisting more and the bodies are even larger, particularly that of Holofernes who seems extremely big and heavy. The look on Judith’s face is different- in addition to repulsion and determination, she seems somewhat satisfied from beheading Holofernes; perhaps that is because Artemisia was victim of a rape when she was eighteen. Artemesia might have represented herself as Judith given similarities with “Lucretia” of 1621 and, much later, “Self-portrait" of 1639.