Judit met het hoofd van Holofernes 1658 - 1677

"Judit met het hoofd van Holofernes," an etching by Dutch artist Wallerant Vaillant (1623-1677), depicts the biblical story of Judith beheading Holofernes, a general of the Assyrian army, to save her people. This artwork, created between 1658 and 1677, demonstrates Vaillant's mastery of chiaroscuro, a technique that uses strong contrasts of light and dark to create dramatic depth and volume, as seen in the composition’s dynamic portrayal of Judith's powerful stance and Holofernes' lifeless form. The etching is currently housed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.