Paid for by a Grand Duke
Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici paid for this picture of the moment Judith kills Holofernes. Artemisia Gentileschi painted it, and it is now in the Uffizi Gallery.
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Judith Slaying Holofernes
Artemisia Gentileschi · 1620
painting
ViolenceRead the context
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In its time
1620
Books from this period
Where it hangs
Uffizi Gallery
Gentileschi paints Judith in the act of killing Holofernes. Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici paid for this version, now in the Uffizi. The subject centres the woman carrying out the killing.
Details
Judith’s arm gives the action a physical force. Follow it towards Holofernes: Gentileschi presents her as a strong woman engaged in the act itself.
In context
Patronage
A patron is the person who pays a painter for a work. Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici paid for this one.