Writings
Judith Decapitating Holoferenes is not an unseen theme in the art of the Renaissance. A depiction of Judith is, at times, places as a parallel to that of David, a popular subject. After the Renaissance the same mythological and biblical themes are carried over into the Baroque. Artemisia Gentileschi depicts, in her own artwork, Biblical Istoria. The subject manner of this piece, Judith Decapitating Holoferenes, has connotations with psychomachia as well as classical thought popularized during the Renaissance. Within the imagery elements can be analyzed through Renaissance thought and philosophy to exemplify the attributes of that golden age of art.
If one begins within Platonic mode of thought, which was rediscovered in the Renaissance within classical text, Art is part of the lower Forms. It addresses our emotions, desires and appetites with imagination. “The notion that beauty was an essential component in the search for the cultivate reality, that imagination and vision were more significant in that quest than logic” during the Renaissance, but to Plato, art is a threat to the order of society (Tarnas, 212). This is exemplified in Donatello's statue of Judith, which gives context to the basic imagery of the story surrounding Judith. Originally placed in the Palazzo de la Senoria, located in central Florence, but after, caused by public opinion, was moved out of public view, and replaced by Michelangelo's David later filling in the vacancy. The female image made some uncomfortable; not proper that the woman should be depicted as killing a man, female domination over a male. Artemisia violent portrayal of Judith over powering Holoferenes amplifies this domination, increasing Plato's theory of art as dangerous to the society and civic order. Contrary to Aristotle’s view that in sighting emotions is a good thing. The dynamic movement projects to the emotional perspective of the viewer (Melchert). “Imagination now rose to the highest position on the epistemological spectrum […] and reunit[ing] itself with the cosmos” (Tarnas, 215).
Artemisia is described as "primary a master of 'history' painting (Bissell, 113). History painting or Istoria as Alberti terms it and describes as consisting of "complex new narrative and allegorical subjects" depicting human figures, variety (ages, physical and social types) “with their reactions to dramatic situations” and psychological elements all within one scene (Renaissance, 45). The subject of Judith and Holoferenes is comparative to David and Goliath; counterparts to each other, virtue verse vice. Both being civic icon, civic propriety, virtue, and political control; seen as the symbol of “protection of the state from tyrannical forces” (Paoletti, 388).
Within the painting, the image itself is full of symbols and metaphors that add depth to the significance to help in the difficultly of communication. The visual language makes statements at different levels. That 'language' explains the soul, perspective verse a substance (Hillman). Judith is seen as an allegory of humility. The sward is seen as phallic but also authority, power, and protection. Judith (female) holding a phallic symbol above Holoferenes (male) embodies a slight irony. Female warrior is a symbol of Fortitude. The combination of this explains, to an extent, why an image of female fortitude with authority to hand out Justice over a male counterpart. There are several theories of this image being a reaction to Artemisia’s ‘rape’ by her tutor (artist) she studied under (the first actually documented); a reclaiming of her own strength after being ‘conquered’. A “work of art is a reflection of the artist’s idea” (Williams, 34). Within Artemisia’s painting visual symbols are embedded with the traditional elements of the story of Judith and Holoferenes. Judith is wearing a bracelet with two cameos visible. One, a warrior with his lance (image common to Roman coins) and shield, image of masculine strength. The other has a woman dancing in a Chilton, image of a bacchante or Maenad which links in classical mythology and iconography. Seen “that the Artist intended ironic contrast between Ares or Mars and the helpless general Holoferenes, and between the dancing bacchante and the death dealing Judith” (Bissell, 105). A contrast between the two parallels on multiple levels.
The composition of Judith with its three figures forms a type of inverted triangle. The triangle or pyramid form of composition is seen in the art of High Renaissance. There are aesthetic reasons with this composition of figures was repeatedly used but the reference of three is seen in prolific Christian ideology, as a large portion of Renaissance art was religion themed, the reference to the form of the Holy Trinity is present. Differing from tradition, Judith and her maidservant pinning down Holoferenes form the base where Holoferenes is the point. This could lead into a discourse on the social hierarchy of the era, with the adult male being at the head of the structure, but with the inversion of the traditional triangle (placing Holoferenes at the bottom) another expression of feminine dominance in this depicted narrative. The Renaissance, itself, is a cornucopia of opposing images/symbols in its art.
The Concept of psychomachia is prevalent throughout the art of the Renaissance; the positioning of opposites within the composition. “Psychomachia can refer to a dualism, dialectic or conversation, about the sacred and profane, good and evil, emotions versus intellect, young and old, constructed and deconstructed, religion and secular, and active verses contemplative” (Renaissance, 53). The placement of ambivalent elements allows a social contrast with assumptions. The example of Titian’s ‘Sacred and Profane’ where upon first glance one would come to the conclusion that the nude female figure would be the image of Profane when it is just the opposite.
Returning to Judith and her “ferocious assault on Holoferenes”, the theme of death is prevalent within the actions depicted (Bissell, 126). A renaissance of any type must first include a death. The two opposing parts of life have cyclic interaction. For Hillman, “renaissance and death belong together” (Hillman, 206). With the death of Holoferenes the Jewish nation is given another chance at life, rebirth as a society to continue anew after the erosion by the adversarial army. Death, philosophies of the classical world have a variety of perceptions of what it is and/or the placement of death within or relating to life. The shadow, or darker side of things, the unconscious wants and desires, is seen continually in art. “Preoccupation with the shadow, the profound sense of evil, misery and life’s short wick” (Hillman, 144). This is seen in “the lives and legends of exemplary individuals, many of them (including Judith and Holoferenes, David and Goliath, and innumerable martyr-saints) involving extremes of violence, enjoyed immense popularity (Bissell, 127). Artemisia’s painting continues over this aspect of Renaissance tradition with the death scene of Holoferenes.
Patronage to the arts was a large part of public and private domain. The term Magnificence applied to both a philosophy and an aesthetic.
“Magnificence is an attribute of expenditures of the kind which we call honorable, that is those connected with the gods-votive offering, building, and sacrifice- and similarly with any form of religion worship, and all those that are proper objects of public spirited ambition, or entertaining the city in a brilliant way” (Aristotle, 26b)
It was important in the public eyes to involve one’s wealth with magnificence. It was how one spent money; with virtue and good taste- appropriate gesture on the occasion. It was a balance of social decorum. The Medici family was at the center of this practice in Florence. The Medici family was known for its patronage to different artists over centuries. Following their tradition as supporters of artists and art, Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici commissioned Judith Decapitating Holoferenes from Artemisia. Though the aesthetic qualities of Magnificence, the usage of expensive pigment and the level of ‘craftsmanship’ of the artist, is seen in the Renaissance the level of craftsmanship is all that can apply to Artemisia’s work of art, particularly in the detail of Judith’s bracelet.
Works Cited
Aristotle. ‘Ethics’. Within Renaissance Artworld Reader for Aesthetics and the Renaissance. Academy of Art, San Francisco: Summer 2008
Bissell, R. Ward. Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art: critical reading and catalogue raisonné. Pennsylvania State University Press, Pennsylvania:1999
Hillman, James. ‘Dehumanizing or Soul-making’ Revisioning Psychology. Within Renaissance Artworld Reader for Aesthetics and the Renaissance. Academy of Art, San Francisco: Summer 2008
Melchert, Norman. The Great Conversation, Fifth Ed. Oxford University Press Inc: New York, 2007
Paoletti, John T. and Gary M. Radke. Art in Renaissance Italy, ed.3. Pearson Education, Inc.,
Renaissance Artworld Reader for Aesthetics and the Renaissance. Academy of Art, San Francisco: Summer 2008
Tarnas, Richard. ‘The Rebirth of Classical Humanism’. The Passion of the Western Mind. Within Renaissance Artworld Reader for Aesthetics and the Renaissance. Academy of Art, San Francisco: Summer 2008
Williams, Robert. Plotinus, Augustine, the Renaissance. Within Renaissance Artworld Reader for Aesthetics and the Renaissance. Academy of Art, San Francisco: Summer 2008