Judith with the head of Holofernes

Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472–1553)

c. 1530

Oil on linden wood

35 1/4 x 24 3/8 in. (89.5 x 61.9 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession number 11.15)

Rogers Fund, 1911

The museum website explains, “Judith, who is adorned ‘so as to allure the eyes of all men that should see her’ (Judith 10:4, Apocrypha), demurely rests her arm on the severed head of Holofernes, her people's enemy. Her fantastically elaborate costume is characteristic of Cranach's courtly mannerism. Cranach painted several versions of the apocryphal Old Testament heroine. Here, he represented Judith as one of his typically delicate, blonde women, whose circumspect expression contrasts sharply with the heavy sword in her right hand and the bluntly lifeless head resting under her left. The goriness of the severed neck must have offended the sensibilities of an owner of the painting, because it was concealed with an extra layer of beard, which was removed by a restorer after the Museum acquired the work. This version has been dated about 1530.”

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Last modified 14 November 2015