Judith standing and looking up, holding the head of Holofernes in her left hand and a sword in her right, tents in the background, after Reni
Medium
Engraving and etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 19 3/16 × 12 5/16 in. (48.8 × 31.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.4574
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking engraving and etching captures the dramatic climax of the biblical story of Judith, the courageous Jewish widow who saves her people by beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes. Standing tall with the severed head in one hand and the sword in the other, gazes upward in a moment triumph and divine reflection, while the enemy tents fade into the background. The composition is based on a painting by the celebrated Italian Baroque master Guido Reni, whose elegant figures and emotional intensity made this subject a favorite among 17th-century artists. Created between roughly 1718 an...
About the Artist
Guido Reni|John Tinney|Nicolas Gabriel Dupuis · 1575–1642
Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...