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Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Lucas Cranach the Elder (the workshop)

Basic information

ID: Ж-758
Author: Lucas Cranach the Elder (the workshop)
Name: Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Date of creation: c.1530s
Technique: oil painting
Material: wood oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 54.5 x 37.5

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: religious
Plot: Judith with the head of Holofernes
Provenance: the Lubomirski collection
Exposition: Potocki Palace

Information about author

Author: Lucas Cranach the Elder (the workshop)
Artist's lifetime: 1472–1553
Country: Germany
Biography: Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553) was the most famous artist of the German Renaissance. He skilfully combined the best achievements of Gothic art with Renaissance artistic techniques in his creative works and succeeded in portrait, religious, and landscape genres. In 1504, he started working at the court of the Dukes of Saxony in Wittenberg. In addition to painting, the master also made etchings, coins, and theatrical scenery. Lucas Cranach the Elder, a Reformation supporter, befriended Martin Luther and even baptised his firstborn son. More than ten students and his sons, Hans and Lucas the Younger, worked in the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder. The productive long-term workshop activities resulted in 5 thousand paintings, drawings, and engravings. In the collection of Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery is presented one of the paintings from the artist's workshop – "Judith with the Head of Holofernes".

Object description

The iconography of this biblical story is extremely rich in European art due to its intense drama, psychological controversy, and content. The so-called Cranach style can be read in the Gallery's painting – in the composition, colour, and particularly in the completeness of the image of Judith. Her long arms, rounded shoulders, small bust, red-golden hair, and ruthless cold gaze create an impression of a slight eroticism. By killing the commander-in-chief of the Babylonian army, Holofernes, and saving the fortress city of Bethulia, Judith became a symbol of patriotism, the victory of the Virgin over the devil, purity and faith over lust and pride in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Like other righteous women of the Old Testament times, such as Esther, Judith is regarded as a typological prototype of the Virgin Mary. She is the New Eve who defeats Satan and the temptation that led humanity to the fall. The statement "weakness is stronger than human strength" is confirmed by the actions of Judith, the female counterpart of David, who defeated Goliath.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

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