Coster, Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Item
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Title
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Coster, Judith with the Head of Holofernes
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Rights
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Museo del Prado, Madrid, Public Domain.
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Creator
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Adam de Coster (1586-1643)
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Description
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In true chiaroscuro form, two women emerge from an otherwise shadowed space. The woman on the right we see very little of save for her face, left arm, and parts of her gown. She is wearing a blood red gown with pearls adorning her left wrist, the hand of which she holds the severed head of a bearded man by the hair. The scene is so shadowed due to it being lit solely by a single candle held in the right hand of the older woman to her right dressed modestly with a white headwrap. In her right hand she holds the candle, her right helping hold the burlap sack the younger woman is placing the head into; she also holds the sack up by her mouth, looking away from the candlelight and thus the severed head as well.
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Format
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Painting. Oil on canvas. 144 x 155 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 chiaroscuro; 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/c/coster/judith.html, 3/21/20.
