Judith and Holofernes (Goya)

Common card · No. 395628

Judith and Holofernes is the name given to one of the 14 Black Paintings painted by Francisco de Goya between 1819 and 1823. By this time, Goya was in his mid 70s and deeply disillusioned. In mental and physical despair, he painted the private works on the interior walls of his home—applying oils directly on plaster—known as the Quinta del Sordo ("The House of the Deaf Man"), which he had purchased in 1819. Judith and Holofernes was likely painted on the first floor, beside Saturn Devouring His Son. The picture is a personal reinterpretation of the narrative of the Book of Judith, in which the protagonist saves Israel from the assault of the general Holofernes by seducing and beheading him. Judith is the only historical figure who can be identified with certainty among the Black Paintings. Judith and Holofernes' palette consists of blacks, ochres and red applied with very free, broad and energetic brushstrokes. The lighting is both focused and highly theatrical, and seems to imply a night...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Francisco Goya, Public domain