Artemisia Gentileschi’s (1593-c. 1656) painting Judith Slaying Holofernes (1612-13) depicts a scene from the Old Testament Apocrypha, where the Assyrian ruler Holofernes is assassinated to save an occupied Israeli city. To gain his trust, the widow Judith dressed up in finery and visited his camp to pretend that she was a traitor joining his side in the conflict. After dining and drinking, Holofernes passed out, giving Judith and her maid Abra the opportunity to cut off his head and bring it back to the besieged city. Unlike other depictions of this scene by contemporaneous male artists, which often depicted Judith as a generic young woman disturbed by the necessary act, Gentileschi painted her with portrait-like specificity, showing a woman more than capable of the task at hand.

Learn more about the work that inspired this pin HERE.