Judith Beheading Holofernes Analysis

The Pearls of the Baroque
The Baroque was a period of counter- reformation where the church and its teachings became the new focal point of praise in works of art, sculpture and architecture. Spanning the 17th Century, which ranges from 1600-1720, the Baroque was a platform to celebrate spirituality. Those who were artistically inclined during this period made it their goal to express their love of religion and classicism through extravagance and restraint of the figures, clothing and emotions in works created. The Baroque spread from Italy the birthplace of the Renaissance and then throughout Europe. The Baroque that started in Italy or the Italian Baroque gave rise to a great female painter by the name of Artemisia Gentileschi (July 8, 1593
The story tells how Judith saved her people by seducing and killing Holofernes, the Assyrian general. Judith explains what occurs when she utters “Approaching to his bed, she took hold of the hair of his head, and said, Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day! And she smothe twice upon his neck with all her might, and she took away his head from him” (Judith, 13:7-8). Gentileschi is able capture the domination of Judith through conveying her anguishes and wants for revenge against Tassi. The painting screams “female empowerment” as Judith and her maidservant, Abra, hold Holofernes to the bed and massacre him. The background of the painting is a plain bedroom wall that is being illuminated from an unknown light source that also brightens the figures in the painting. This is a technique that is constantly seen in Baroque art where light is used to create meaning and reveal form. The meaning emphasizes what will happen in the moment depicted (Baroque). The illuminated figures in the painting are Judith in blue, her maidservant Abra in red, and Holofernes laying face up. The expressions of the characters vary. As Judith grips the hair of Holofernes with her left hand and slices open his neck with a sword in her right hand, she wears a calm and thoughtful expression. It is as if Judith is focusing on her technique to work through the neck of Holofernes effectively similar to a
This portrait depicts three shepherds and a wise woman grouped around a large stone tomb. The setting is in Arcadia, a real region in Greece, located in the middle, eastern plateau of the Peloponnesian peninsula. In Renaissance arts, Arcadia was mainly a paradise that was sparsely populated with shepherds but rich in vegetation and landforms. In the centre of the portrait has the aforementioned depictions. The stone tomb is rectangular in shape and has the Latin inscription that doesn’t translate exactly into English: it could read “I was also in Arcadia,” or “I am in Arcadia, too” (Why Study the Classics?). The first translation could suggest that the occupant of the tomb was an Arcadian shepherd or countryman. The second translation could invoke the thought of Death speaking, reminding the shepherds of his presence and of memento mori, “Remember thou too must die” (The Arcadian Shepherd). The shepherds are composed in a classical, thoughtful and precisely ordered manner. The shepherds are arranged around the tomb in an equilibrium which allows the portrait to feel balanced. With each in different postures and with different attitudes, Poussin allows for each shepherd to tell a different story. The kneeling shepherd in the centre is trying to decipher the inscription on the tomb, the shepherd on the left is simply an