Judith with the Head of Holofernes
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Known during the sixteenth century as an exceptional, righteous woman, Judith was a Jewish heroine who seduced the Assyrian general besieging her city and beheaded him to save her people. Judith’s story took on political implications in this period and her figure became a symbol of civic virtue, justice, and independence taken up by the free imperial city-states of the Holy Roman Empire. Likely a Protestant refugee from Flanders, Mannerist sculptor van Egen worked at the royal tombs in Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark.
Artwork Details
- Title: Judith with the Head of Holofernes
- Artist: Gert van Egen (Flemish (active Denmark), documented 1568, died 1611 or 1612)
- Date: ca. 1570–75
- Culture: Danish
- Medium: Partly polychromed and gilded alabaster, gemstones, freshwater pearls, silver
- Dimensions: 13 7/8 in. (35.3 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture-Alabaster
- Credit Line: The Hearn Family Trust
- Object Number: L.2023.16.1
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts