Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Title

[cda 2021]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Letter from D. Koepplin to Galerie Kornfeld, Bern 29.08.2007; Koepplin Archive]

The heroine Judith is shown standing against a dark backdrop, facing to her right. She is wearing courtly attire, comprising of a dress with puffed sleeves at the elbows, and laced at the waist. It is worn over a white blouse with a high collar and gold brocade. Her hair is worn up under a pearl snood. It is covered by a broad-brimmed hat positioned at an angle on her head and decorated with ostrich feathers. In her right hand she triumphantly holds the sword with which she beheaded Holofernes. She has placed her left hand on the decapitated head that rests on a ledge in front of her. The panel is probably a copy after a painting from the Cranach workshop.

[cda 2021]

Attributions: Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder
Follower of Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Letter from D. Koepplin to Galerie Kornfeld, Bern 29.08.2007; Koepplin Archive]
Follower of Lucas Cranach the Younger	[Militärhistorisches Museum, revised 2021] [Christie's online database, accessed 20.04.2021]

Production date: about 1700 - 1780

Production date

about 1700 - 1780

[Letter from D. Koepplin to Galerie Kornfeld, Bern 29.08.2007; Koepplin Archive]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 19.7 x 15.9 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 19.7 x 15.9 cm
Dimensions includiing frame: 32.5 x 25.8 x 5.6 cm
[Militärhistorisches Museum, revised 2021]

Signature / Dating: None

Inscriptions and Labels: Reverse of the panel: - centre: square paper customs label with serrated edge, printed with geometric form (bright blue …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

Reverse of the panel: - centre: square paper customs label with serrated edge, printed with geometric form (bright blue circle and four triangles to create the corners of a square) stamped in ink with a Swiss customs stamp
- above that: two paper stickers from the Christie's sale
- bottom right corner: paper label with barcode and invenotry no. of the MHM: BBAO3485
Reverse of frame:
- top left corner: customs label (see above)
- bottom left corner: Paper label with sale no. '5493' and date printed in pink ink 'Aug. 2010'
- bottom frame member: paper label with barcode from Christie's
- right vertical member. two paper stickers from the Christie's sale

Owner: Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, Dresden
Repository: Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, Dresden
Location: Dresden

CDA ID: DE_mhmbw_BBAO3485
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_mhmbw_BBAO3485/

Provenance

private collection
with Eberhard W. Kornfeld, Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen, Bern, 2007
[Letter from D. Koepplin to E. Kornfeld 29.08.2007; Koepplin Archive]
sold at Christie's London, 29.10.2010, lot 5
[Christie's online database, accessed 20.04.2021]
acquired by the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, Dresden
[Militärhistorisches Museum, revised 2021]

Research History / Discussion

Possibly a copy after a larger format version by Cranach now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [US_MMANY_11-15]. Two further copies of the New York painting exist, [DE_SAOH_2014-IIIc] and [NL_SSHBH_44], and have the same dimensions as the present painting.

[cda 2021]

Judith with the Head of Holofernes, about 1700 - 1780

Images

Technical studies

20.04.2021Technical Examination

Support

- wooden support consisting of a single plank roughly bevelled along the vertical edges and reinforced with two horizontal battens

[cda 2021]

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

X-radiography

Versions

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'Judith with the Head of Holofernes', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_mhmbw_BBAO3485/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Judith with the Head of Holofernes', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_mhmbw_BBAO3485/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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