The vertically oriented painting depicts the biblical Judith holding in her left hand the severed head of Holofernes. Judith, a Jewish widow from Bethulia, saved her city from destruction by the Assyrian army by killing their commander, Holofernes. In art, she was often shown either in the act of killing her enemy or, as in this painting, holding a bloodstained sword in one hand and the hair of the decapitated Assyrian leader in the other. The composition is illuminated by light falling from above, from the left side. The palette is dominated by dark, subdued colors.

Judith is shown from the waist up, against a dark background. Depicted in a three-quarter view, she is turned slightly to the right but faces the viewer directly, her gaze fixed outward. Her reddish hair is neatly arranged and pinned up, with dark ribbon bows visible on the left side of her hairstyle. Her face is oval, with a fair, lightly flushed complexion. She has a high, broad forehead; large, dark brown eyes; thin, straight dark eyebrows; and a long, straight, prominent nose. Her cheeks and ear are gently reddened. Her mouth is closed, with full, pink but rather narrow lips. Her steady gaze gives her expression firmness, and her face shows no trace of a smile.

She is dressed in a dark gown composed of several layers. The outer garment is navy blue, almost black, resembling a cloak. Its short sleeves reveal the long, fitted sleeves of a white underdress. The short sleeves are decorated with gold trim. Beneath the cloak-like layer is a second dark green layer with white stitching. Only a small portion of the neckline is visible. The square neckline is edged with lace. Attached to the inner layer of her gown is a ruff—a collar made of thin fabric, circular, pleated or gathered, and usually trimmed with lace. Judith’s ruff is high and white, encircling her face. It rises up to her ears and ends in lace. Around her neck she wears a double pearl necklace and a long, double gold chain that falls over the front of her dress.

In her tightly clenched right hand, Judith holds a sabre with a golden hilt. Her arm is bent at the elbow, with her fist resting on a surface at the bottom of the composition. There are traces of blood on the blade. Her index finger bears a gold ring set with red and white stones, and on her ring finger is a smaller ring with a red gem.

Her left hand is raised to the right, holding the severed head of Holofernes by the hair, resting it on the same surface. The head is large and dark, with thick dark hair and a long beard. The dead man’s face has closed eyes, furrowed brows, a long nose, and slightly open lips. His complexion is greyish and bluish; his features are tense, marked by the grimace of pain.

Along the bottom edge of the painting runs the top of a ledge or tabletop. It is grey-green in color. Judith rests her right hand and the severed head on this surface.

Lavinia Fontana was the daughter and student of Prospero Fontana, a Mannerist painter from Bologna. She initially worked in her hometown, and in 1603 she moved to Rome at the invitation of Pope Clement VIII. She was the first woman artist to gain wide recognition both in Italy and abroad. She painted religious scenes, but the most compelling part of her work consists of portraits. The Kraków painting—attributed to Lavinia Fontana on the basis of stylistic similarities—combines the depiction of the biblical heroine Judith with a portrait of the artist herself. It appears that Judith’s face bears the features of Fontana’s own self-portrait, as in many of her other religious and historical compositions she lent her heroines her characteristic elongated face and long nose.

Audio description: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Content consultation: Miłosz Kargol