The painting Judith Beheading Holofernes from The National Gallery depicts a woman beheading an army general with her maidservant's assistance. Artemisia Gentileschi painted the artwork in 1620 as a silent protest in men's undermining of female artists during Gentileschi's era ( Camara, 2014) . According to a Biblical story in Judith's book, the Assyrians had invaded a Jewish city and besieged it, causing panic and mayhem amongst its inhabitants. Judith, a young Jewish maiden, decided to save her kin by beautifying herself, adorning exquisite clothes, and entering the Assyrian camp to seduce and murder Holofernes, the Assyrian general. Therefore, Gentileschi explains the occurrences of Judith's attempt to rescue her tribe mates through the painting mentioned above.
In Judith Beheading Holofernes , Gentileschi dresses Judith in a yellow garment for eye-appeal purposes, supposedly. Judith's maidservant is also dressed in colorful yellow, and red clothe and a head turban. The two women appear calm as they conduct they behead Holofernes, with Judith's female helper pinning down the victim and Judith wielding a seemingly sharp sword ( The National Gallery, London, n.d.) . Holofernes appears half-dead, with his head almost detached from his body after Judith runs the blade through it. Blood rivulets drop down a white piece of bed sheet that Holofernes lays on, from Judith's beheading of the army general. Holofernes appears to be without clothes, with his legs covered by a red and white piece of clothing where Judith might have directed him to when she seduced him.
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The room in the painting is dark, with colors only shimmering from Judith and her maid servant's garments, the white sheet that Holofernes had lain on, and the dark red blood that flows down the bed covering. Gentileschi's portrayal of Judith's brave act of beheading a man, who usually would overpower her, is a silent indication that men must cease undermining women's capacity to conduct actions that are supposedly strictly masculine.
References
Camara, E. (2014). Gentileschi, Judith slaying Holofernes (article) . Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/baroque-art1/baroque-italy/a/gentileschi-judith-slaying-holofernes
The National Gallery, London. (n.d.). Judith beheading Holofernes | Artemisia | National gallery, London . https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/artemisia/judith-beheading-holofernes
