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Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Artist (Italian, 1607 - 1665)
Dateca.1633-37
Period17th century
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsImage: 46 7/8 x 37 1/8 in. (119.1 x 94.3 cm)
Frame: 59 3/16 × 48 1/2 × 2 5/16 in. (150.3 × 123.2 × 5.8 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum purchase, 1966
Object numberSN798
Though Cairo was born and trained in Milan, his stint in Turin in the 1630s, as court painter to the Duke of Savoy, had a profound influence on his style. The dark palette, dramatic lighting, and sensuous naturalism evident here are qualities associated with the work of Caravaggio and his followers, which Cairo was able to study first-hand in Turin. It is interesting to compare this painting with Fede Galizia’s depiction of the same subject some 40 years earlier (SN684, on the opposite end of this wall).
On View
On view
Location
  • Museum of Art, Gallery 08, Wall East
Bibliography

Bury, Adrian. "Drama in Paint," Connoisseur (September 1965)

Wykes-Joyce, Max. "Old Masters of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries," Arts Review (October 30, 1965)

"Fine Old Masters in Four Exhibitions," The Daily Telegraph (November 15, 1965)

Tomory, Peter. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings before 1800 (Sarasota: 1976), cat. no. 40, ill.

Francesco Cairo 1607-1665. Musei Civici di Varese (October 1-December 31, 1983) pp. 7-8. 

Meech-Pekarik, Julia. The Hogen and Heiji Battle Screens in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Jacksonville: 1983) ill. fig. 16. 

Janson, F. Anthony. Great Paintings from The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. (New York: 1986) p. 47.

Brejon de Lavergnée, Arnauld and Nathalie Volle. Répertoire des peintures italiennes du XVIIe siècle (Paris: 1988) p. 67.

Simon, Robert B. and Frank Dabell. Important Old Master Paintings: Devotion and Delight (New York: 1989) p. 97, ill. fig. 1.

Adams, Doug and Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, eds. Dance as Religious Studies (New York City: 1990) ill. fig. 27.

Anderson, Jaynie. Judith (Paris: 1997) p. 74, ill. fig. 51.

Francesco, Frangi. Francesco Cairo (Turin: 1998) pp.79, 245, ill. fig. 32. 

Merling, Mitchell. Ringling: The Art Museum (Sarasota: 2002) p. 67.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.  12 Timeless Stories (Sarasota: 2003)

"Judith and the Head of Holofernes," National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Friends Newsletter and Magazine (November, 2004)

Brown, Beverly L. Virtuous Virgins: Classical Heroines, Romantic Passion and the Art of Suicide (London: 2004) p. 11.

Uppenkamp, Bettina. Judith und Holofernes in der italienischen Malerei des Barock (Berlin: 2004) cat. no. 22.

Rosenberg, Pierre. Only in America: One Hundred Paintings in American Museums Unmatched in European Collections (Milan: 2007) pp. 100-101, 228.

Borys, Stephen D., ed. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Guide to the Collections (Sarasota: 2008) p. 78.

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