Judith Slaying Holo

Term Paper

I visited the Art Museum of Chicago and enjoyed some great art from all different eras, one that really caught my attention was Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi. The drama, detail and rich colors caused me to sit and fantasize a story on what could be happening in this painting. This large 158.8 cm × 125.5 cm oil on canvas was made in around 1620 century, Baroque Period in Florence Italy. There are two women standing over a man, one is wearing a very detailed golden dress with the sleeves pulled up her arms that are lined in a deep red, the shadowing and diagonal lines on her dress give her motion and texture. One of her hands are clenched on the man's head with his hair peeking through her fists. The other hand has a sword slicing through his neck, her arm is curved inward, the short hand lines on the hands suggest force. Her left arm is adorned with a gold and turquoise bracelet and that is the only jewelry in the painting. Her right side of her face is lighted while the left is in a shadow. The right knee is propped up on the bed next to the man as she's leaning into the motion of the cut. There is not a lot of emotion in her face other than her eyebrows arched up and two apparent lines in between. Her breasts are contrasted light and dark and there is a small blood drop on her right breast. The women beside her is wearing a dark royal blue dress with a duller red trim on sleeves, the lines in her dress are duller and not as apparent as the other. Her sleeves are also rolled up but the left one that she is using to hold the man down is half way down her arm. She is wearing a dirty white wrap on her head as she peers down at the man. Her eyebrows are also tensed up as the man is clenching the collar of her dress. She is holding the man's arm down with both hands. The man lying in bed is naked other than a white sheet and deep velvety, red blanket covering his lower chest and thigh area. He has his right leg bent up and his right arm erected and holding onto the women in the back. There is no short deep lines in his hands, they are soft. His head is tilted back towards the viewer with his eyes beginning to roll back in his head. He has deep lines in his forehead and his mouth is slightly opened showing teeth. There is not a lot of muscle tone in his arms and they don't appear to be as tense as you'd expect. There is blood protruding towards