Fontana, Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Item
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Title
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Fontana, Judith with the Head of Holofernes
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Rights
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Museo Davia Bargellini, Bologna, Public Domain.
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Creator
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Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614)
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Date
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1600
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Description
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In the foreground is a woman with dark hair; she wears a lavish red gown with gold and pearl accents. In her left hand she holds the severed head of a bearded man by the hair, and in her right she brandishes the sword which killed him; the sword is still held in mid-air, almost as if she has only just beheaded him and we caught her in the midst of her act, her gaze trained on us challengingly. The scene emerges from an otherwise completely dark, shadowed composition, another woman seemingly emerging from the shadows holding a wicker basket with a cloth in it, assumedly for the head, her dark gaze trained on us menacingly.
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Format
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Painting. Oil on canvas. 130 x 110 cm
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Publisher
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Web Gallery of Art
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Contributor
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Abigail P.
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Subject
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Biblical story; biblical scene; Judith; maidservant; Holofernes; war general; decapitation; sword; weapon; Baroque.
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Source
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Jpeg file. Unknown photographer. Web Gallery of Art Digital Collection. https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/f/fontana/lavinia/judith.html, 3/21/20.
