(Milan 1578–1630)
Judith with the head of Holofernes,
signed in red, on the seam of the sack lower left: FEDE GALITIA,
oil on canvas, 127 x 95.5 cm, framed

Old inventory number on the reverse: ‘No. 208’

Provenance:
art market England, circa 1995;
where acquired by the father of the present owner;
Private European collection

We are grateful to Filippo Maria Ferro for his help in cataloguing this lot. He dates the present painting to circa 1610–1615.

Fede Galizia was born in Milan, the daughter of the Lombard miniature painter, Nunzio Galizia. She is noted as a pioneer in the treatment of still life painting and, increasingly, for her portraiture and religious paintings. She was trained and worked in the late Mannerist Milanese milieu defined by the work of Gian Paolo Lomazzo (1538–1592) and Ambrogio Figino (1553–1608).

The present, previously unpublished, work depicting Judith with the head of Holofernes is a significant version of a subject the artist returned to several times during the course of her career. The biblical story is particularly pertinent in the discussion of the artist’s work as the subject alludes to the apotheosis of a woman’s struggle to impose herself in a male dominated world.

An early version of the subject by Galizia was published by Ferro in 2019 (see F. M. Ferro, Un’inedita Giuditta e Oloferne di Fede Galizia, in: Arte Lombarda, no. 186/187, 2019, pp.145–48) and she returned to the same theme in 1596 in the painting now in the Ringling Museum, Sarasota. This is succeeded by similar versions in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, dated 1601 and by a further work now in the Palazzo Reale, Turin dated to circa 1605–10 (for all these works see Fede Galizia. Mirabile pittoressa, exhibition catalogue, ed. by G. Agosti, L. Giacomelli and J. Stoppa, Trento 2021, in particular pp. 133–53).

In her earlier depictions of the subject of Judith and Holofernes, which are generally reproduced with minimal variation, the protagonist is depicted in sumptuous clothing and jewellery, and painted in a highly decorative and Mannerist style. Galizia reveals the influence of the painterly style of the Bolognese painter, Camillo Procaccini (1561–1629), who was active in Milan from 1587. Her decorative choices were probably also influenced by the activities of her father, Nunzio, who was responsible for the design of the clothing worn by the Duke of Mantua on the occasion of the wedding between Ferdinando de’ Medici and Christine of Lorraine in 1589, as well for the production of theatre costumes in Milan in the 1590s.

The discovery of the present painting is significant as it represents a fundamental change in the oeuvre of Fede Galizia, opening up interesting new perspectives in the study of the mature phase of her artistic career. The painting presents an important innovation and development in the treatment of the subject. This composition presents a powerful and partially disrobed Judith. The fabric of her robes is simpler than in earlier versions of the subject and the use of jewellery is also markedly reduced when compared to the Sarasota Judith and its companions. The heroine’s face is carefully modelled with the use of chiaroscuro and her expression is no longer doll-like, but serene and determined. Judith is depicted in mid-movement: turning with a defiant gaze as she leaves Holofernes’ tent, she places his severed head into a sack held by her maid, Abra. In the present painting, the servant Abra is no longer the elderly woman of Galizia’s earlier renditions of the subject, but a young girl. In addition, Judith’s scimitar has been replaced by a sword – a powerful symbol of her strength – a potent sign of female strength in a male world.

The subject of Judith and Holofernes enjoyed renewed popularity following the Council of Trent after which it was officially included in the new translation of the Bible commissioned by Pope Sixtus V and Pope Clement VIII in 1592. The second half of the 16th century also saw numerous plays by writers such as Cesare Sacchetti or Federico Della Valle recounting the tale of Judith, the heroine of Bethulia, who seduces and kills the Assyrian general, Holofernes, to save her city from slavery. The popularity of the subject continued into the early 17th century, appearing in the work of Caravaggio, for example in his painting commissioned by the Genoese banker, Ottavio Costa (Palazzo Barderini, Rome), and also in various interpretations by Artemisia Gentileschi, which have only been recently rediscovered.

Ferro dates the present work to between 1610 and 1615. The artist’s signature is located on the edge of the sack and is drawn as if with drops of blood dripping from the severed head, an apparent quotation from the Beheading of John the Baptist which was painted in Malta in 1608 by Caravaggio, whose influence is especially evident in this work.

Further research is still necessary on the work and inventory of Fede Galizia as became evident in the recent monograph exhibition dedicated to Galizia at the Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento in 2021. For example, a painting of the importance of the Sarasota Judith has no provenance recorded before 1969, while the provenance of the version in the Galleria Borghese as being from the collection of Cardinal Antonio Maria Salviati is plausible, but not certain.

The inventories of the court in Turin, for which Fede Galizia worked, include several paintings depicting Judith with the head of Holofernes listed as being from the Lombardy. One of them can be identified with the painting by Fede Galizia, now conserved in the Palazzo Reale, Turin (inv. no. 5478).

The presence on the back of the painting, which is unlined, of an inventory number traced in red paint (‘No 208.’) may eventually provide more information about this painting’s earlier history.

Technical entry by Gianluca Poldi:

The painting is still on its original canvas, unlined, with an evident craquelure and substantially well conserved, with some retouches visible under UV light.

The brown, earth-based preparation exceeds the front surface of the work, and traces of paint can be seen along the left and right edges turned up on the stretcher, suggesting that the original format may have been slightly wider.

The signature “FEDE GALITIA” is painted along the edge of the sack with the same vermillion red as the blood and is entirely consistent with the painting.

The composition must first have been carefully studied and drawn on the canvas, since neither in IR reflectography, nor in transmitted IR, are any major changes noticeable, only minor adjustments, such as in the upper contour of Judith’s left arm, in the oval of the young maid’s face and at the top of the heroine's yellow mantle, which is slightly reduced by the white curtain. The horizontal bar of the sword hilt was longer and then shortened by the painter.

The underdrawing is subtle, apparently limited to contours and quite difficult to detect despite multiband IR imaging. No incision made in the fresh paint is evident.

The painting technique used here by Fede Galizia, as in her other works of this high quality, maintains a velvety brushstroke for the flesh tones. She generally blended the brushstrokes and used a freer and more textural manner in other areas, such as the garments. This is apparent in the yellow mass of Judith’s cloak, which rises behind the figure´s shoulders in an unnatural way. It serves to counterbalance the dark mass of the skirt, which is painted with azurite and in the lower part (at the height of the left knee) yellow brushstrokes are applied in an unusual and sensitive way to create luminosity.