Judith with her sword raised in her right hand and placing the head of Holofernes in the sack with her left 1535 - 1545

This print in the Met is by Andrea Schiavone, an Italian artist who died in 1563. It shows the biblical heroine Judith at a moment of stark ambivalence. The composition divides the scene, creating a visual and emotional tension. Judith stands tall, sword aloft, yet her gaze is directed downward. The etching technique gives a swirling effect, destabilising the ground beneath her. There’s a sense of incompleteness in the rendering, as if the scene is still forming. Schiavone uses line and form to convey a story not just of triumph, but of internal conflict. The lack of clear, defined space heightens the psychological drama. The image asks us to consider the unstable boundaries between heroism and violence, between resolution and the lingering unease that follows a decisive act. This work functions as a visual argument, challenging fixed interpretations.