Judith, the Jewish heroine of the Old Testament, stands gazing upward holding a sword in her right hand. With her left hand she holds the severed head of the Assyrian giant Holofernes, as it rests on a pedestal covered with a white cloth. In her right hand is the sword she used for the beheading.

The subject is from the apocryphal Book of Judith. Traditionally, Judith has symbolized the struggle of the Israelites against their oppressors of the Near East. She was a rich and beautiful Jewish widow from the city of Betulia which was besieged by the Assyrians. Judith succeeded in tricking the leader of the Assyrian army, Holofernes, into attending a banquet in his honor. She plied him with wine until he fell into a drunken sleep. Assisted by her maid, Judith beheaded Holofernes and carried his head back to Betulia.When the Assyrians learned of theri leader's death, they fled in terror.

Several episodes of this story have been illustrated by artists, but the most common is without a doubt the one depicted in our painting. Often Judith is represented with a maid who places the trophy either on a plate or in a sack. The figure of Judith first appears in the Middle Ages as a symbol of virtue triumphing over vice and as a companion to the allegorical figure of Humility. Common in Renaissance art as well, the subject may have been considered a symbol of the misfortunes of men at the hands of women.

Attribution:

This painting is one of several contemporary copies of a painting by Guido Reni (1575-1642) now in the Sedlmayer collection in Geneva and datable to 1625-1626. The Boston example is the only seventeenth-century copy not depicting Judith in full length. In addition, Holofernes is represented only by his head, rather then the traditional head and left shoulder.

Guido Reni, commonly know as Guido, was born in Calvernzano, Italy near Bologna. After rejecting his father´s profession of music, Reni was placed with the Antwerp painter Denys Calvaert, also known as Dionisio Fiammingo (1540-1619). During Reni´s early career he studied in the Carracci studio and with Ferantini and was influenced by Caravaggio and Raphael. A friend and benefactor of Pope Paul V, Reni spent the majority of his life in Rome, and is said to have painted eighty-three frescoes and pictures for the city. He is regarded as the greatest figure painter of his time, who drew freely from historical sources and worked on an extravagant scale.

Reni´s later years were marked by a turn from the more energetic and exuberant style of his youth, to the use of heavy and dark shadows presumably from Carravaggio´s influence. One criticism of Reni's work is his lack of consistent quality. This can be explained by his need to often paint rapidly in order to sell his work to pay for his increasing gambling debts. It is believed that Reni died in debt.

In his own time, Reni was referred to as the "divine Guido". By the middle of the eighteenth century, however, his work was relatively ignored because it was considered excessively sentimental. Reni became popular again in the nineteenth century. In 1819, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote that if Rome were for some reason destroyed, only the paintings of Raphael and Guido Reni would be missed among the city´s lost treasures. Since 1954, Reni´s works have enjoyed a renewed appreciation thanks to a large retrospective exhibit in his native Bologna.

Judith and the Head of Holofernes can be compared to a painting of the same subject attributed to Carlo Maratta that hangs in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome. Other copies are in the Spada Gallery in Rome; the Church of the Confraternita del Rosario in Bagnara Calabra; the Royal Collection at Hampton Court Palace; and in Rouen. An engraving by Vendramin is now in the Witt Library´s collection in London.

Provenance:

Records in the Boston College files date back to 1929, but it is believed to have been in the University´s possession for several years before that time. This painting was previously hung in the Periodical Room of the Bapst Library.

Comments:

The following is an attestation pasted on the back of the painting: In the palace of Bertivoglio of this city we, the undersigned Academical Professors have inspected a picture in canvas representing the beautiful Judith with the Head of Holofernes. This more than half great figure is very richly dressed, and with the locks in hand holds the head of the giant, and in the distance distinguishable military tents are depicted in the night light. We, after examination of this picture, recognize it as a famous work of Guido Reni, already described in the Felsina Pittrice in the life of the same (Reni). In testimony whereof we subscribe ourselves. Signed Pietro Fancelli, Prof. and Ercole Petroni, Prof.
Bologna April 11, 1839

William E. Suida, 1950, "The half figure of Judith corresponds exactly with that part of an entire figure attributed to Guido Reni in the Galleria Spada in Rome. From the photograph, the Boston College painting impresses me very much, but again in this case, all would depend on a study of the original, if it is to be considered as an original Reni. Attributing the painting to Gentileschi does not hold."

Henry L. Maloney, 1950, "This is a 1st period Guido Reni when the Neopolitan influence was very strong in his work."

Bibliography/Literature:

Zeri, F. La Galleria Spada in Roma. Catalogo dei depinti, Firenze, 1954.

Rosenberg, P. Rouen. Musée des Beaux-Arts. Tableaux Français du XVIIème siècle et Italiens des XVII et XVIIIème siècles, Paris, 1966, n. 277.

Garrand, M.D. Artemisia Gentileschi, Princeton, 1989, pp. 278-336.