''Judith and Holofernes'' is the name given to one of the 14 ''

Black Paintings The ''Black Paintings'' (Spanish: ''Pinturas negras'') is the name given to a group of 14 paintings by Francisco Goya from the later years of his life, likely between 1819 and 1823. They portray intense, haunting themes, reflective of both his ...

'' painted by

Francisco de Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

between 1819 and 1823. By this time, Goya was in his mid 70s and deeply disillusioned. In mental and physical despair, he painted the private works on the interior walls of his home—applying oils directly on plaster—known as the Quinta del Sordo ("The House of the Deaf Man"), which he had purchased in 1819. ''Judith and Holofernes'' was likely painted on the first floor, beside ''

Saturn Devouring His Son ''Saturn Devouring His Son'' is a painting by Spanish artist Francisco Goya. It is traditionally interpreted as a depiction of the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus (known as Saturn in Roman mythology) eating one of his offspring. Fearing a proph ...

''. The picture is a personal reinterpretation of the narrative of the Book of Judith, in which the protagonist saves

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

from the assault of the general

Holofernes In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, Holofernes ( grc, Ὀλοφέρνης; he, הולופרנס) was an invading Assyrian general known for having been beheaded by Judith, a Hebrew widow who entered his camp and beheaded him while he was ...

by seducing and beheading him. Judith is the only historical figure who can be identified with certainty among the ''Black Paintings''. ''Judith and Holofernes'' palette consists of blacks, ochres and red applied with very free, broad and energetic brushstrokes. The lighting is both focused and highly theatrical, and seems to imply a night scene lit by a torch, which illuminates Judith's face and outstretched arm and leaves in semidarkness the face of the old serving woman whose darkened outline is shown in prayer. Significantly, neither Holofernes nor the blood streaming from his neck is shown, as is typical of most artistic renderings. Given Goya's bitter disillusionment over the second restoration of

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

, it is possible that Holofernes represents the Spanish King, whom Goya privately despised. Holofernes' death was often depicted in art as a symbol of the defeat of tyranny. This would have been a brave and daring allusion for an artist with such ties to the crown as Goya had. Goya did not believe, however, that the series would ever be viewed by anyone but himself, which allowed him greater freedom of expression.Hughes, 379 He had been secretive before when delivering unpalatable political views through his work; his ''

Disasters of War ''The Disasters of War'' ( es, Los desastres de la guerra) is a series of 8280 prints in the first published edition (1863), for which the last two plates were not available. See "Execution". prints created between 1810 and 1820 by the Spani ...

'' series of etchings harshly comments on both the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

and the later Bourbon Restoration, but was only published 35 years after his death.Jones, Jonathan.
Look what we did
. ''The Guardian'', 31 March 2003. Retrieved 4 April 2010. Along with the other works in the series, the painting was transferred to canvas in 1873–74 for Baron Émile d'Erlanger under the supervision of

Salvador Martínez Cubells Salvador Martínez Cubells (9 November 1845 – 21 January 1914) was a Spanish painter and art restorer ( Paintings conservator), who specialized in history painting and Costumbrismo. Biography He was born in Valencia, and received his fi ...

, a curator at the Museo del Prado. D'Erlanger donated all 14 canvases to the Prado in 1881.Hughes, 16–17

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Benito Oterino, Agustín, ''La luz en la quinta del sordo: estudio de las formas y cotidianidad'', Madrid, Universidad Complutense, 2002, p. 33
Edición digital
. *Bozal, Valeriano, ''Francisco Goya, vida y obra'', (2 vols.) Madrid, Tf. Editores, 2005. . *Bozal, Valeriano, ''Pinturas Negras de Goya'', Tf. Editores, Madrid, 1997. *Glendinning, Nigel, ''Francisco de Goya'', Madrid, Cuadernos de Historia 16 (col. «El arte y sus creadores», nº 30), 1993. *Hagen, Rose-Marie and Hagen, Rainer, ''Francisco de Goya'', Cologne, Taschen, 2003. . * Hughes, Robert. ''Goya''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

External links

* {{Goya Paintings by Francisco Goya in the Museo del Prado 1820s paintings Paintings depicting Judith

See also

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links