“Judith Slaying Holofernes” is shown for the first time on an unknown date in 1620. Female Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi’s work is likely the most famous depiction in art of the deuterocanonical Bible story and is commissioned by Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici for display at Pitti Palace. The work, portraying a woman in an act of revenge, is known for its hard contrasts, realism and graphic gore, and is now on display at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
This Day in Halloween: Painter Artemisia Gentileschi’s “Judith Slaying Holofernes” is shown for the first time on an unknown date in 1620. / Illustration by Rana Barua