Judith and Her Maid Servant By Artemisia Gentileschi.
This painting was made in 1613-14,Palazzo Pitti, Florence on an oil on canvas. Artemisia Gentileschi studied under Caravaggio. She moved to Florence to go to the Florentine Academy of Design. At my first glance, Judith and her Maidservant looks like some domestic scene to me; women returning home after shopping or something. Then looking into the shopping basket and see the disembodied head. Kind of freaks me out. What's strange in this picture to me are the lines leading away from it. The glances of the women lead us outside the frame. That's like links taking your precious visitor outside your site, when its recommended that you occupy them in it as long as possible. I feel like the head in the basket is so powerful an image that your eyes will automatically be drawn towards it. I feel like you will look at Judith, glance right at servant, follow the diagonal of her sleeve and come back to basket. I feel this is Caravaggio influence. Like him, she puts you there, with her, sharing her concern and tension. I like the details, making it look realistic. Like a stage magician, she does not look at the object she wants hidden. So what do you feel?
The ornament in Judith's hair portrays a picture of a man with a shield and lance, maybe David the decapitator of Goliath a male equivalent of Judith.
ReplyDeleteI agree that their eyes do lead us out of the piece a little but it also makes me feel like I am in the room with the women and am distracted by something. I wonder what. Is it a sight, a sound? Perhaps Herod is calling them back into the room. I find this piece very identifiable.
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