Judith with the Head of Holofernes,

The beautiful and intelligent widow Judith cunningly gains access to Holofernes, the general of the enemy forces, and cuts off his head. By doing so, she changes the fate of her people: the Israelites from her native city then force King Nebuchadnezzar’s troups to take flight. Depictions of ancient and biblical heroines as half-length figures were popular during the Baroque period in series of paintings or as companion pieces. Some art historians consider this picture the work of an artist from the circle around Vouet in Rome.