Attributed to Carlo Saraceni

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work on copper has not been restored for many years. The copper is flat. The work is noticeably dirty. The paint layer in the brown background and darkest colors of Judith's clothing has developed some instability and will need to be stabilized prior to cleaning. No retouches are apparent at present, and it seems that there are none of any note. If the paint layer is stabilized and cleaned, retouches would be required in the background in the upper right and in a few spots in the darker colors of Judith's green dress. Although the work is in need of restoration, the condition is very good overall.
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Saraceni painted the popular subject of Judith with the head of Holofernes twice in his career, in two different compositions; both exist in numerous versions by the artist and his workshop.  The composition which the present painting follows shows Judith upright and turning to look straight at the viewer, with the head in her left hand and a sword in her right.  Her maid is just beyond her shoulder but still quite forward in the composition, lit brightly; both women wear colorful clothing, Judith with a jeweled hairpiece and brooches.  The colorful drapery is depicted in a classical and elegant manner, with the fabric in Judith's hair blowing beyond her.  The prime version, now in a private collection in Madrid¹ was completed in the early 1610s, just after the death of Caravaggio. 

The artist's other treatment exhibits the influence of the Caravaggist style on Saraceni's work (fig. 1).  Painted in a darkly lit interior, Judith is seen at the center of the composition, looking up at the viewer.  Her maid is in the lower left corner, looking up at Judith, who holds up the head of Holofernes with her left hand.  While scholars date the first versions of each composition to 1610-15, the contrast between the more classical version with the dramatic, tenebrist treatment is a fascinating study into the changing styles of painting in Rome in the wake of Caravaggio's death. 


1. Oil on copper, 33 by 26 cm., see M.G. Aurigemma, Carlo Saraceni 1579-1620, Rome 2013, pp. 235-237, reproduced p. 236.