#judith and the head of holofernes

[alisfelia]

vienne secession

[tapiocapo]

Do you think klimt ever imagined he’d ever have his art turned into a my little pony. What would he think

[notdeezy]

Parallax and the head of Sinestro

[unorthodox-chef]

"Judith and the Head of Holofernes" by Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt has created many beautiful paintings. Everybody has seen “The Kiss” by him, and dare I say that particular painting is the most famous one by Klimt. Even those who have never heard his surname have probably seen “The Kiss” used as a reference, advertisement, card, or even a wrapper for a chocolate bar.

And yet, my favourite painting by Gustav Klimt is not “The Kiss”. It’s beautiful and seductive Judith, one of the most desirable beings ever existed.

I am fascinated by iridescent voluptuousness of this woman, and we don’t even need to remember Biblical story to know that she is a woman. Before Klimt Judith had been depicted so many times: as a heroic and innocent girl who accepts her fate to become a vessel of God’s salvation; as a brave young woman who scornfully rejects the role of the victim and becomes a saviour of her people... but it is Klimt who depicts Judith as a sensual and breathtaking woman not only fully aware of her power but also choosing to use it and having no remorse about it.

Her partial nudity bares no reference to the price she had to pay to seduce Holofernes. In fact, it is we, the viewer, the observer who feels more naked under her sight that she will ever be. And why is that? Because she has nothing to hide. She has nothing to be ashamed of. And the golden regal cloths is not meant to cover her nude body, it is yet another garnish but not the main course.

I love her lips, the way they are parted, red and luscious. The expression on her face is one of pure desire. Not only she is victorious, she also enjoys her victory to the fullest. And that sensual pleasure resonates in us, the viewer, and makes this piece of art not only a masterpiece but a moving masterpiece.

She is golden – in all the ways possible. The Golden Ticket that will be the ruin of you, for there will be nothing after it... and we have the head of Holofernes to be sure of it.

Holofernes here is almost hard to notice. He is reduced to only his head that he loses in all the senses possible, at first symbolically, and then literally. We see Holofernes’ head only partly, and it is pretty dark... because it is not he but Judith who is the main character of this story. I absolutely love the way Judith holds his head. She does it with such carelessness that we realise – he was doomed even before he met Judith. He was doomed long before he was born, for Beauty and Passion existed before him.

They are eternal.

[raspberry-beret]

Art Weekend - Judith and the Head of Holofernes by Gustav Klimt

Although the biblical heroine Judith had been depicted many times, the defiant femme fatale depiction of Klimt was unusual and the painting was often mislabelled as that of the murderess character Salome. Klimt eventually had a frame with the title engraved by his brother Georg to correct this assumption. This is one of the first paintings of Klimt's "golden phase", using a heavy amount of gold leaf that he became known for. The model is also suspected to be Adele Bloch-Bauer, who is one of the only models of his to have been painted multiple times.

[m-o-ustafa92]

وُلِد غوستاف كليمت في ١٤ يوليو سنة ١٨٦٢ رسام الرمزية النمساوي وأحد الأعضاء الرائدين في حركة إنفصال فيينا. واللوحة التي أقدمها اليوم مما تمتاز به الفترة الذهبية من مسيرته. إنها تصور الشخصية التوراتية يهوديت وهي تحمل رأس هولوفيرنس (أحد قادة نبوخذ نصر) بعد أن ذبحته، وغالباً ما صُور الذبح وتبعاته في الفن منذ عصر النهضة، وكليمت نفسه سيرسم عملاً ثانياً يصور الموضوع في سنة ١٩٠٩.

في لوحته يتجاهل كليمت عمداً أي إشارة للسردية ويركز في عرضه التصويري على يهوديت وحدها، حتى أنه قص رأس هولوفيرنس عند الحافة اليمنى. لا يوجد أي أثر لسيفٍ دامٍ، كما لو أن البطلة قد إستخدمت سلاحاً مختلفاً؛ وهو إهمال يجيز الربط مع سالومي الذي طالب بقطع رأس القديس يوحنا المعمدان. تبدو اللحظة التي سبقت القتل (وهي إغراء القائد) وأنها تتحد مع الجزء الأخير من القصة.

Judith and the Head of Holofernes

Gustav Klimt

1901

[earthconsciousness]

[frankenpagie]

Two gifts I received today.

My dad's wedding ring and Girl Dinner T-shirt.

[pppaintings]

Judith and the Head of Holofernes - Gustav Klimt

[skullfragments]

soooo i've been real busy this past month and change working on this monster of a painting! it was originally for the GO Ref library study club but clearly took much longer than i anticipated😅

for those of you who don't recognize it, this is based on one of my favorite historical paintings, Judith Beheading Holofernes (1620) by Artemisia Gentileschi. i love the Baroque period and this painting (as well as her other works) makes me insane. here it is Good Omens style so maybe all of you can be insane with me <3

"Aziraphale (and Crowley) Beheading the Metatron"

(non-bloody and non-glowy versions under the cut)

[alisfelia]

venus in furs by leopold von sacher-masoch

"you have corrupted my imagination and inflamed my blood..."

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

Bernardo Cavallino (1616-1656) "Judith with the Head of Holofernes" Oil on canvas Located in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

[koredzas]

Jan Massijs - Judith wirh the Head of Holofernes. 1530 - 1540

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Fede Galizia (Italian, 1578-1630) Judith with the Head of Holofernes, Detail, ca.1620s

[janrockart]

Judith with a Shotel (and the head of Holofernes, also)

[baravaggio]

David With the Head of Goliath, Caravaggio c.1605 Judith Slaying Holofernes, Artemesia Gentileschi c.1620