Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Title

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

[cda 2020]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Letter appendix from Linsay, Fine Art, London to D. Koepplin, 27.06.1999; Koepplin Archive]

The painting depicts Judith, the old testament jewish heroine who saved her besieged town by seducing the enemy general Holofernes and killing him. She is shown as a half-length standing figure, facing to her left against a dark background, while holding her sword in her right hand. The general's decapitated

The painting depicts Judith, the old testament jewish heroine who saved her besieged town by seducing the enemy general Holofernes and killing him. She is shown as a half-length standing figure, facing to her left against a dark background, while holding her sword in her right hand. The general's decapitated head rests on a marble sill in front of her. Judith is wearing a sumptuous dress with puffed sleeves and brocade bands. A snood covers her hair and a wide-brimmed velvet hat with feathers completes her head attire. This outfit is complemented by a neck band set with precioius stones, a large linked chain and elegant white gloves with decorative slits revealing her rings.

[cda 2020]

Attribution
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[cda 2020]

Production date
about 1530

Production date

about 1530

[cda 2020]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 39.7 x 26.7 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 39.7 x 26.7 cm

  • [Letter appendix from Linsay, Fine Art, London to D. Koepplin, 27.06.1999; Koepplin Archive]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the bottom centre on the stone sill: serpent with elevated wings, facing left; in yellow paint

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the bottom centre on the stone sill: serpent with elevated wings, facing left; in yellow paint

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P349
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P349/

Provenance

  • William Delafield, 1857
  • his sale, Christie's 30.04.1870 where acquired by
  • the Earl of Southesk, later Duke of Fife
  • by descent
    [Letter appendix from Linsay, Fine Art, London to D. Koepplin, 27.06.1999; Koepplin Archive]

Exhibitions

Manchester 1857, no. 426

  • Judith with the Head of Holofernes, about 1530

Images

Compare images
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  • x_radiograph

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/PRIVATE_NONE-P349/ (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/PRIVATE_NONE-P349/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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