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Judith and Holofernes

ca. 1627–29
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Having plied the Assyrian general with drink, Judith "took down his fauchion [sword] from thence, and approached to his bed, and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day. And she smote twice upon his neck with all her might." Others, including Caravaggio, had treated the subject memorably, but none described with comparable psychological insight the determination of a young woman. Judith’s old maid, whose features contrast with hers, casts an assessing glance back at Holofernes’s groin.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Judith and Holofernes
  • Artist: Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1627–29
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 41 3/4 × 55 1/2 in. (106 × 141 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings