3-040-499 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Judith with the Head of Holofernes; Miroir Historial, about 1475. Additional Info:In this small miniature Judith and her maid stow the head of Holofernes, an Assyrian general, in a bag while his decapitated body lies limp in a canopied bed behind them. According to the Old Testament story, Judith sought out Holofernes in his tent as her city lay besieged by the Assyrian army. Intending to seduce her, Holofernes was instead tricked into an intoxicated sleep, giving Judith the opportunity to seize his sword and slash off his head. After Judith bore the severed head back to the city of Bethulia, her heroic escapade was soon followed by the departure of the Assyrian army. This miniature is painted in grisaille, a technique where the artist paints in monochrome, heightening the gradations of light and dark that lend three-dimensionality to figures. In this miniature, the artist used an unusual red grisaille instead of the more common gray, echoing the bloody violence of Judith's act.