II. Renaissance Judith: narrative and iconic
During the course of the fifteenth Century, artists proposed new approaches to the visual representation of Judith and she became subject of an increasing production of images in all media. The sequential representation of the different episodes of the book’s narrative, popular during the Middle Ages, became rare with few exceptions like printed bibles or biblical complications, Netherlandish prints and tapestry cycles. In contrasts, artists started to focus on the climactic moment of the narrative: Holofernes decapitation and the immediate following moments. This particular focus emphasizes the extraordinary nature of Judith’s deed by juxtaposing the strong, yet lifeless, male body of Holofernes and the delicate but agile appearance of the women who just defeated him. This is the case of Botticelli and Mantegna version of this scene, in which the elegant, fragile and modest Judith is devoid of all violence or immorality.
On the other hand, Judith’s figure was also given a more iconic treatment, removing her from the story’s narrative setting and presenting her in an allegoric manner. This resulted in representations that emphasized different aspects of Judith’s persona such as her virtuosity and heroism. The revival of classic values in Renaissance culture was influential in the new importance given to the heroic representation of Judith, not as a mere instrument of God’s strength but as the strong, fierce and convincing hero of Donatello’s sculpture.
Similarly, in other of these iconic depictions, Holofernes’ severed head becomes a sort of totem, an attribute of the same nature of the sword that Judith usually holds in her other hand. This objectification of Holofernes’ head, again, neutralizes the violence and horror of the murder, which is implied but not explicitly presented. This is the case of representations of Judith such as those painted by Cranach and Giorgione. However, Judith’s ambiguity started to be brought to the surface through the sixteenth Century by artists interested on exploring a different version of the heroine. Judith’s sensuality was therefore emphasized, conflicting her image of chastity.
Objects in this section
Donatello, “Judith and Holofernes”. 1457-64. Bronze, 236 cms. Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
This monumental sculpture by Donatello, which depicts Judith decapitating Holofernes, stablished an important starting point that marked the beginning of a new iconographical approach to Judith as a heroic icon. Judith’s firm posture contrast with Holofernes languid body. She looks as a strong and fierce woman, in absolute command of the situation, holding steadily and confidently the heavy sword as if she was about to behead him.
This sculpture was originally commissioned by the Medici for to be located in a private garden.This might account for a political appropriation of Judith’s heroism by the Medici, interpreted under a Humanist rather that a Christian perspective as a representation of the triumph of enlightenment and virtue, principles supported by this family.
In 1495, the sculpture ownership passed to the Florentine republic, and it was transformed into a public monument and located in the Pizza Signoria. Judith’s story symbolized the victory of Humility over Superbia or Pride, the triumph of the small but brave and honorable over the strong but vicious. This discourse adapts very well to the establishment of the new city-state.
The location of Donatello’s sculpture in a public space constitute a very rare case for Judith’s depictions, which were mainly destined to private settings. In spite of her deed, Judith was not to be considered a political public figure. She acquired that status, a masculine one, only temporarily. After her return to Bethulia, she goes back to her “female place” marking her political and public facet only as a temporal subversion of what was consider the natural order. In fact, in the frame of the 1504 debate to decide the future location of Michelangelo’s David sculpture, the herald of the Signoris Francisco di Lorenzo Filarete proposed to use it as a replacement of Donatello’s sculture. Filarete argued, among other reasons, that the Judith is an omen of evil (…) Besides, it is not proper that the woman should kill the male (…). It is clear that Filaretes’ refutation of the sculpture is specifically related to the fact that the agent of the violent act it represents is a woman.
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Jan Sanders van Hemessen, “Judith”. c. 1549. Art Institute of Chicago.
Although the heroic tradition inaugurated by Donatello was influential principally on fifteenth century depictions of Judith, his treatment of her figure still resonates in some sixteenth century like this painting by Sanders. The highly masculinized body and the emphasis on her physical strength convey a heroic Judith whose power has nothing to do with her sexual allure or a divine intervention but with her own power and vigor.
She is not just passively posing for the viewers gaze. The way in which she holds the sword, firmly and high in the air, not only stresses her body’s strength and musculature, but also replicates the physical action of the beheading and presents her as an active woman.
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Botticelli, “The Return of Judith to Bethulia”. c. 1472. Oil on panel, 31 x 24 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
This painting by Botticelli responds to the new kind narrative approach introduced by Renaissance artists for the depiction of Judith’s story. It illustrates one of its climatic moments, right after the beheading, in which Judith and her maidservant head to Bethulia with Holofernes’ head, leaving behind the Assyrian camp, which can be spotted in the background. Botticelli’s representation of the two women, walking calmly and graciously, with the wind beautifully undulating their clothes, transforms the moment immediately after a murder in a pacified and idealized scene. Judith and her maid carry the sword and the basket with such a lightness and ease that the violence embedded in the severed head and the killing weapon.
Moreover, here Judith resembles the depiction of an allegoric figure modestly posing for the viewer with a sword and a palm as her attributes. This locates this painting in a middle ground between a narrative approach to the story and an iconic representation of Judith. Furthermore, there is also a continuity with the Medieval tradition, in which Judith’s image was related to many Christian virtues such as Justice, Temperance, Chastity and Humility. The delicate, feminine and modest woman of Botticelli’s painting seem convey some of these virtues.
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Lucas Cranach The Elder, “Judith with the head of Holofernes”. 1530. Oil on panel, 75 x 56 cm. Jagdschloss Grunewald.
Northern artists also contributed to the development of this visual tradition. Cranach the Elder depicted Judith in more that twelve representations in different media, many of which share the composition present in this later work by the artist, painted in the 1540’s. The sword plays a key element in the recognition of Judith’s iconography, and this is particularly true in the case of Cranach’s production as he depicted Salome in an almost identical way but excluding the killing weapon. In this painting, Chranach does not include any other element liked to the narrative, but located Judith in a closed, undefined space. The window in the background reveals a northern landscape, which do not present any reference to the biblical story. She hold the sword, proudly identifying herself as the murderer and hold holoferned head from the head with an slightly violent gesture.
In spite of the iconic nature of this image, in which the decapitation of Holofernes is not explicitly shown but implied, there is still a unnerving feeling around it. On one hand, Holofernes’ semi opened eyes and the angle in which the head is depicted, revealing the severed neck, act as a reminder of the violence and the horror of the decapitation. Similarly, there is something in her posture and expression that shows her proud of her act in a way that is not clearly virtuous nor heroic.