Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Giovan Battista Salvi, known as Sassoferrato
oil on canvas
1639 ca

This canvas, Giuditta con la testa di Oloferne (Judith with the Head of Holofernes) was included in the list of paintings destined for the Capitoline Museums curated by Agostino Tofanelli in 1812. Having been shipped to Rome, fortunately it was returned to San Pietro in 1815. Unlike other works by Sassoferrato on view in San Pietro, this painting was neither inspired by Raffaello nor il Perugino but is an original creation. The subject of the painting, dear to artists dedicated to 17th century realism, is immersed in an atmosphere that is both rarefied and suspended.

There is nothing here of the bloody and dramatic versions by Caravaggio and his closest followers. Its composition is presented in the dimensions of classical, almost purist, composure. This Judith is part of the iconographic program Salvi implemented for the basilica of San Pietro, since it prefigures the victory of the Blessed Virgin over the Demon.