Judith and Holofernes
c.1554
In this dramatic Renaissance scene, the biblical heroine Judith is captured in the gruesome act of beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes. She grips his hair firmly with one hand while raising a massive sword with the other, her expression a mix of determination and disgust. Her maid stands ready in the shadows with a sack to collect the head. Giorgio Vasari, better known today as the 'father of art history' for writing the first major book on artists' biographies, painted this violent masterpiece around 1554, showcasing his flair for theatrical, muscular figures typical of the Mannerist style.
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