Image DESCRIPTION

This painting depicts the apocryphal story of the Jewish widow Judith, who beheaded the Assyrian general Holofernes. In the center of this dark scene, Judith is pictured from the waist up looking directly at the viewer with a solemn expression. She is dressed in a white blouse with gathered sleeves, over which she wears a dark gray dress with a red strap across the front adorned by a gold brooch. Her left arm is raised almost to the height of her shoulder, and her hand clutches a man's head by the hair. On the left side of the canvas is an older woman. The right side of her wrinkled face is seen in profile as she looks up at Judith. This woman holds open a tan sack with both hands and her mouth. Her left hand also holds a candle, which illuminates Judith but casts one side of Holofernes' head into shadow. Only his forehead, nose and right eye are visible in the gloom. The background of the painting is also dim, beginning with dark brown in the upper left then becoming lighter at the upper right.

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