Judith with the Head of Holofernes

ca. 1626–27

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

The Old Testament heroine Judith is shown after her victory over the Assyrian general Holofernes, whom she seduced before cutting off his head. In keeping with seventeenth-century discussions about the place of women in society, she is shown as a heroic woman—a femme forte. Her hand raised, she admonishes: "But the Almighty Lord hath disappointed them by the hand of a woman." This celebrated picture was owned by the German banker Everhard Jabach, who sold it to Louis XIV; it decorated a room at Versailles.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Judith with the Head of Holofernes
Artist: Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome)
Date: ca. 1626–27
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 38 3/16 × 29 1/8 in. (97 × 74 cm)
Frame: 46 7/8 × 37 5/8 in. (119 × 95.5 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Musée des Augustins, Toulouse
Curatorial Department: European Paintings

Audio

319. Judith with the Head of Holofernes

0:00

We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. Please email info@metmuseum.org to request a transcript for this track.