jan 1, 1599 - Judith Beheading Holofernes I Caravaggio

Description:

He was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life, His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting. Caravaggio painted the rarely depicted, melodramatic moment of the actual beheading of Holofernes. Most paintings usually show Judith holding the head after, not cutting it off. It shows Judith leaning back in disgust as she cleaves through Holofernes’ neck with his own sword, his face still with an expression of terror, and the bloodthirsty old servant waiting with a sack to put the head in. The painting truly created a realistic sense, where one could feel the painting’s characters’ emotions in one’s bones.

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