Details

Object type

painting

Title

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Artist/Maker

Lucas Cranach artist

Culture/School

German

Date

1530

Materials

oil on panel

Dimensions

framed: 900 mm x 785 mm x 65 mm;unframed: 767 mm x 558 mm

Description

This painting bears a serpent ‘trademark’, and is dated 1530. It is attributed to the German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553), who used this trademark as a mark of authenticity on work originating in his workshop. The painting is executed in oil on wood panel, and depicts the Jewish heroine, Judith, whose story is told in the Apocrypha section of the Bible. Judith, a grieving widow, put on her best clothes and seduced Holofernes, the officer commanding troops who were violently threatening her fellow citizens. Once Holofernes had succumbed to her advances, she beheaded him with a sword. Judith is depicted here, in all her finery, displaying Holofernes’s head in triumph.

This is a very fine painting, with exquisite detail, particularly in the background landscape and Judith’s elaborate costume, both of which relate to the German location and time when the work was made. Many paintings of female figures, in formats similar to this work, originated from Cranach’s family workshop whilst it was in operation, but this is a particularly impressive example.

The work was acquired for the Burrell Collection in 1995, using funds from the Burrell Trustees supplemented by generous grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Art Collections Fund (now The Art Fund).

Credit Line/Donor

Purchased by the Burrell Trustees with the assistance of The Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund, 1995

Collection

Burrell Collection: Pictures [Oils, Pastels and Watercolours]

ID Number

35.671

Location

Burrell Collection