Judith with the Head of Holofernes by Allori: The Painter Who Lost His Head (1610-12)
A young woman in a gown of shimmering gold turns towards us with perfect calm. In her right hand she holds a sword; in her left, gripped by the hair, she holds the severed head of a bearded man. Behind her, an old woman in a white veil waits with a sack. It is one of the most famous paintings in Florence, and one of the most personal. According to the Florentine biographer Filippo Baldinucci, the head belongs to the painter himself, Cristofano Allori; the beautiful executioner is the woman he loved, and the maid is her mother. Cristofano Allori, Judith with the Head of Holofernes , 1610–12. Oil on canvas, 139 × 116 cm. Source: Gallerie degli Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, Florence, inv. 1912 no. 96. Public Domain artwork. Fine-art print available from the Sapiens Verbum print shop. 🖼️ Get this painting as a print → Quick facts Artist: Cristofano Allori (1577–1621), Florentine painter Title: Judith with the Head of Holofern...