Needlework Beauty

Judith Slaying Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi (1620) Many people are familiar with Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes , but not many know about Artemisia Gentileschi’s version of the story, Judith Slaying Holofernes . The tale goes like this: a young widow, Judith, from the Jewish city of Bethulia, wished to save her people from Nebuchadnezzar’s army (Beheading Holofernes, Uffizi). She was invited into their camp under the pretense that she would give them information to ensure their victory. Holofernes, a general of the army, was captivated by Judith’s beauty and invited her to dine with him. After a few too many glasses of wine, Holofernes fell asleep on his bed, where Judith, with the help of her maid, Abra, cut off his head (Camara).  Why is this piece of art important? Judith Slaying Holofernes was painted in a time when few women painters were recognized, let alone apprenticed. Gentileschi’s version of the story is much more brutal and human than Caravaggio’s. Her a...

Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1498)   Many works of art emerged from the Renaissance period of our history. While originating in Italy, the ideas of humanism and classical antiquity made their way north by the early 16th century. Albrecht Dürer, one such artist from Germany, greatly influenced and defined the Northern Renaissance. One piece he’s well known for is the fourth woodcut of his Apocalypse series, depicting the four horsemen of the apocalypse, created on his return from Italy to his hometown of Nuremberg.  Like many religious pieces of the Northern Renaissance era, Dürer’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse depicts a scene from the Book of Revelations. In this woodcut, we see the horsemen in the opposite order from when they appear in the book. On the far right, there rides Conquest, the first seal of seven in Revelations to be broken. And next to them is War, the second seal broken. Then next is Famine, and lastly, closer to the viewer is Death. ...

  Morning Star (Lucifer) -Paul Fryer