Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 - 1553)

Burrell Collection

1530

The Bible relates how Judith saved her people in a war with the Assyrians by seducing their general Holofernes and cutting off his head. Cranach portrays Judith as a wise and self-assured woman, elegantly clad and holding the blood-stained sword in a restrained but triumphant manner. She wears contemporary dress; and the landscape visible in the distance contains buildings consistent with Cranach's own surroundings. This picture is treated like a portrait rather than a history painting.

• Medium: oil on panel
• Dimensions: 76.7 x 55.8cm
• Art Fund Grant: £50000 ( Total: £314,663; Export stopped)
• ArtFunded in: 1995
• Vendor: Anonymous through Citibank N A Art Advisory Service

Provenance

Collection Rudolf Chillingworth sale; Galeries Fischer, Lucerne, 1922; Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway; thence by descent; Christie's, 1994.

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