Rubens, Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Title: Rubens, Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Rights: Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, Public Domain.
Creator: Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Date: ca. 1616
Description: A woman, looks directly at the viewer. She is illuminated by a single candle held below her by an elderly woman wearing a white headwrap and red garments. She is wearing a blue gown with a white underdress which is falling, exposing her breasts, auburn hair pulled away from her face in a simple updo. In her left hand she holds the severed head of an older bearded man with dark hair, and in her right is the sword that killed him. Her assertive gaze and mild smirk, illuminated from underneath, gives the scene an eerie ambience.
Format: Painting. Oil on canvas. 120 x 111 cm
Publisher: Web Gallery of Art
Contributor: Abigail P.
Subject: Biblical story; biblical scene; Judith; maidservant; Holofernes; war general; decapitation; sword; weapon; chiaroscuro, Baroque.
Source: Jpeg file. Unknown photographer. Web Gallery of Art Digital Collection. https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/rubens/15biblic/08judith.html, 3/21/20.