Art! Art! Art! › Works

Judith I

Gustav Klimt, 1901

Gustav Klimt's Judith I, dated 1901, belongs to the collection of the Belvedere. The painting shows the biblical heroine Judith holding the severed head of the Assyrian general Holofernes, and it is often seen as an early landmark of Klimt's use of gold. At 84 by 42 cm, it is a compact, upright canvas that rewards close, unhurried looking.

Where to see it

Judith I is held by the Belvedere, which lists the painting in its collection. Works can be moved, rehung, lent or temporarily removed for conservation, so check the Belvedere's official website for current display status, opening hours and ticket information before you visit.

What to look for in person

Judith's face and gaze

Start with the face. Judith's head is tilted slightly back, her eyes half-closed and her lips parted, an expression that viewers have long found ambiguous, somewhere between triumph, calm and sensual absorption. She looks down toward the viewer rather than at the deed she has just done. Notice how softly and realistically Klimt models the skin compared with the flat, ornamental gold around it. That contrast between a lifelike body and a decorative surface is one of the defining features of his work from this period.

The head of Holofernes at the edge

Look to the lower right corner. The head of Holofernes is easy to miss at first, because Klimt cuts it off at the edge of the canvas, so only part of the face is visible beneath Judith's hand. Pushing the story's violent climax to the margin keeps attention on Judith herself. This understated treatment is one reason the painting has sometimes been mistaken for an image of Salome, another biblical woman linked to a severed head, even though the subject is Judith.

Gold, ornament and the frame

Step closer to see how gold is used across the picture: in the wide jeweled choker around Judith's neck, in her garments and in the stylized background of tree-like forms. Klimt applied gold leaf, which catches the light differently as you move. Then step back and include the frame in your view. It is a metal frame made by Klimt's brother Georg, a goldsmith and engraver, and it carries the inscription 'Judith und Holofernes', naming the subject directly.

About the painting

Gustav Klimt painted Judith I in 1901, during the years when he was a leading figure of the Vienna Secession, the group of artists who broke away from the academic establishment to promote new forms of art and design. The picture is often placed at the beginning of what is commonly called his 'golden phase', a period in which he combined oil painting with gold leaf and dense ornament, culminating in works such as The Kiss. The subject comes from the Book of Judith, in which a Jewish widow saves her town by entering the camp of the Assyrian general Holofernes and beheading him. Earlier European artists usually showed Judith as a virtuous heroine, often with a sword and a servant beside her. Klimt removes the sword and the narrative setting and concentrates on a single, close-up figure whose bare skin, jewelry and expression dominate the canvas. The result is closer to a portrait of a modern woman than a history painting, and the work is frequently discussed in connection with the femme fatale theme that was widespread in art and literature around 1900. The tall, narrow format, 84 cm high and 42 cm wide, presses the figure close to the picture surface and gives the composition a vertical, almost icon-like quality, reinforced by the flat gold areas. Klimt returned to the subject in a later painting known as Judith II, which is why this work carries the numeral I. When you visit, allow time to view it both from a distance, to take in the overall design, and up close, to see the texture of the gold.

Key facts

More by Gustav Klimt

• Danaë
• Death and Life
• Portrait of Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein
• Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
• Beethoven Frieze — Belvedere
• The Kiss — Belvedere

Sources

• Wikidata Q2324643
• www.belvedere.at