Judith and Holofernes (allori, 1577-1621)

The most finished pictured of Cristofano Allori, one of the best artists of his time, is in the Pitti Palace Florence. It represents Judith with the head of Holofernes in her hand, and the maid, who accompanied her upon her tragic mission, in the background.

The head of Holofernes is said to be a portrait of the artist, Judith that of his wife, and the maid, her mother.

Judith is the heroine of the Apocryphal Book called by her name, which is one of the earliest specimens of historical fiction. The heroine is represented as an ideal type of beauty, piety, chastity and courage. She was of the tribe of Simeon, and belonged to a period of storm and religious conflict, when faith meant action rather than supplication.

She lived in Bethulia, when it was besieged by an Assyrian army under Holofernes. By stratagem, she, with her maid, entered his tent while he was in a drunken sleep, and taking his own sword from the wall cut off his head. She was awarded a triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and honored to the day of her death as the deliverer of her nation.

The face of Judith is pale with the passion and excitement of her cruel night's work, but the coloring of the whole picture is rich and harmonious.

This was a favorite subject with Allori; he painted at least twenty pictures on this one subject. The Pitti Palace has his best.