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She “was the first woman to be accepted into the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts” where she was able to continue her artistic education and gain the “generous support and patronage of the Medici duke, Cosimo II” (Brooklyn Museum). She continued her creative legacy by giving birth to two daughters, who both became painters as well. Later, she and her husband separated, leaving Gentileschi to enjoy a level of independence unknown to other women of her day. She built a life-long career painting commissions for wealthy patrons such as the Medici family and the King of England. Gentileschi moved to Naples in 1641 where she lived until her death (Brooklyn Museum).

Although Gentileschi produced a multitude of paintings over her lifetime, the subject matter within Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes was depicted repeatedly in a number of her artworks (see fig.1). The themes included in this work are religious and portrait, because it shows a scene from a biblical story in a portrait form. This realistically painted piece features Judith and her maidservant directly after Judith cut off the offending man’s head, which can be seen on the bottom of the picture plane. Judith stands gesturing perhaps with her hand for her servant to stop. She is dressed as a lady and carries the weapon, a sword. Her maidservant crouches at the bottom of the picture holding Holofernes’ head with both of her hands. The setting appears to be in Holofernes’ bedroom at night. One can see the bed curtains at the top right and a side table on the left holding a single lit candle. This candle is the only source of light within the artwork, illuminating only the two characters while leaving the background in shadow. The focal point of this artwork is the standing Judith, and maybe more specifically, her raised hand in front of the candle light. The focal point is created by dressing her in the brightest, eye-catching tint of yellow, having her stand while the maid sits, and illuminating her most over everything else.

There are a number of visual elements that can be identified within the subject matter of Judith and Maidservant. Visual elements are “the eight terms that” help “us analyze our visual experience” and include “line, shape, mass, light, color, texture, pattern, and space” as well as “time and motion” (Getlein 77). Judith, her maidservant, and Holofernes are all organic shapes, because they come from nature. The people are also considered positive shapes, while everything in the background is considered negative shapes. There is an implied line that leads the viewer’s eyes from the crouching maid up towards Judith’s head and hand. Gentileschi created it by aligning the heads of the two women. The red bed curtain also helps highlight this diagonal, implied line. There are cross-contour lines in women’s dresses which move across their bodies to create a 3-dimentional appearance. The bed curtain holds cross-contour lines, too, creating the illusion that it is draped between two bedposts. There is realistic, visual texture in the folds of the clothing and curtain which can only be seen, not touched. The artist created the illusion of space through overlapping the people in front of the background. However, the Gentileschi uses shallow space to push the subject matter to the foreground in order to help the viewer feel as if she is witnessing the scene or even within in. This painting employs the dramatic lighting tool called tenebrism, which uses a single light source, making the subject matter appear like actors on a stage with a spotlight. The subject matter is lit, but nothing else. The artist used both warm and cool colors to help create the illusion of depth. The warm colors of red and yellow tend to come forward, while the cool colors of green and blue tend to recede into the background. The three primary colors of red, blue, and yellow, can also be seen in the artwork. Judith’s dress is yellow, her maidservant’s dress is blue-violet, and the bed curtain is red.

In addition to the visual elements that can be found, there are principles of design which organize them within the painting. The largest organizing tool used in design is unity. Unity in an artwork makes everything look as though it belongs together, and can be created with repetition and proximity. Gentileschi used unity through proximity by placing the people and objects close together. She also created unity through the repetition of women as the subject matter. The artist then used an asymmetrical balance to help construct the diagonal, implied line that runs through the artwork from the bottom right corner to the top, left. Asymmetrical balance is uneven. It places more visual weight to one side of the painting than the other. Emphasis and subordination are employed to help create the focal point of the piece. The two women, the table, and the bed curtain are all areas of emphasis which stand out above the dark background, covering the areas of subordination.

The context, or meaning behind the artwork derives from the artist’s own life and how it relates to the biblical story of Judith. The Book of Judith tells the story of a female heroine who outsmarted a tyrannical general and saved her people. The tale states:

that Nebuchadrezzar, king of Assyria, sent his general Holofernes on an expedition against Palestine. At the siege of the Jewish city of Bethulia, a general named Achior warned Holofernes of the danger of attacking the Jews. A beautiful Jewish widow named Judith left the besieged city in pretended flight and foretold to Holofernes that he would be victorious. Invited into his tent, she cut off his head as he lay in drunken sleep and brought it in a bag to Bethulia. A Jewish victory over the leaderless Assyrian forces followed. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Art historians believe that the strong, resourceful character of Judith appealed to Gentileschi because of traumatic events that happened in her past, concluding that she painted this subject matter frequently in order to process her experiences and feel some type of justice.

Gentileschi was an incredible painter who lived a remarkable life with privileges and independence not common for women during the Renaissance. Even though her adulthood began with trauma, she did not let it stop her from fulfilling her goal to become a professional artist. Instead she used her art to express her emotions and refine her skill. Researching her biography and the context behind her work brings to life an unusual and complex woman. She continues to be a role model for overcoming suffering and following one’s dreams.

Works Cited

“Artemisia Gentileschi.” brooklynmuseum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_

partyplacesettings/artemisia_gentileschi. Accessed 24 April 2019.

“Book of Judith.” britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Book-of-Judith. Accessed 24

April 2019.

Getlein, Mark. Living with Art, 11th ed.. McGraw-Hill , 2016.

Figure 1: Artemisia Gentileschi Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes