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The story: Holofernes was an Assyrian general who laid siege to the Israelite town of Bethulia. The residents were about to give up and surrender when the widow Judith devised an independent plan. Taking her maid Abra with her, she set out for the enemy camp, finds the tent of Holofernes, and says she has come to help him. She tells him that the Israelites cannot be defeated unless they sin against god, but they were about to do so. Therefore, she said, Holofernes should extend the siege a little longer. This he does, and while he waits, he invites Judith into his tent. He plans to seduce her but being drunk, he falls asleep. Judith takes his sword and cuts off his head, gives it to Abra who puts it in a bag of food, and they leave and return to Bethulia. The Assyrians fall apart without their leader and are now defeated by the Israelites. The story is usually considered as an allegory rather than as history. In some versions, Judith is thought to be the equivalent of Judaism and Bethulia is the House of God. In other versions, such as that used by Caravaggio, Judith is associated with Mary as the symbol of the church, and Holofernes represents all sinners who can be saved if they choose to repent. This is the only way to explain the frail and ineffective representation of Judith, in contrast with the image of Holofernes.
1620 1612-1615 Artemsia Gentileschi
