Judith and Holofernes
XVII century.Not on display
Judith stands with a sword in her right hand. She rests her left on Holofernes´s head.
This is a faithful copy of a composition by Guido Reni, which was much appreciated in its time and often repeated. The version at the Sedlmayer Collection in Geneva is considered the original, and can be dated to around 1625-1626. The superb technique employed to depict the fabrics, the dramatic accentuation of certain effects resolved in a colder, more classical manner in the original, and the mastery with which the female figure´s power and strength are interpreted bear witness to the confidence with which Carreño approached models stylistically distant from the common practice of his time and surroundings yet undoubtedly attractive to his personal disposition. This work makes an important contribution to our knowledge of the underlying classicism that Carreño displayed on more than one occasion.
The Alcázar´s 1686 inventory includes the following entry: "Vaults leading to the Priory […] Room adjacent to the Vaults leading under the summer Office […] [759] A Painting two-and-a-half rods high and one-and-a-half rods wide of Judith beheading Holofernes by Guydo Boloñes which is badly worn from age and has been dismounted to be copied." This reference to a commission to copy that work may be related to the present version.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Carreño, Rizi, Herrera y la pintura madrileña de su tiempo, Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura. Banco Herrero, 1986, p.237
