How to Read Paintings: Judith and Holofernes by Gustav Klimt
Seduction and death in this dangerous masterpiece
Her face is captured in a moment of rapture. Her eyes are half-closed, her lips are gently parting. In her hands she holds the severed head of her enemy and appears almost to flinch at the satisfaction of her victory, with her right eye teetering on the edge of sensual excess.
The subject of this painting by Gustav Klimt is the tale of Judith and Holofernes, as told in the Old Testament and later elaborated on among apocryphal texts.
Judith was a beautiful and wealthy widow from the Jewish city of Bethulia. Desperately under siege from the Assyrian army, the city was on the point of surrender. The Assyrians were led by a general named Holofernes. In order to save her city, Judith devised a scheme by pretending to desert her people and cross over into enemy territory. Captivated by her beauty, Holofernes put on a banquet for Judith and then later took her back to his private quarters. Intent on seducing her, he was instead sedated by too much wine, at which Judith seized his sword and with two swift blows cut off his head. She and her maidservant took the severed head in a sack and returned home. After the fate of Holofernes had been discovered, the Assyrian army quickly fell into disarray and consequently…
