Mattia Preti

J.T. Spike, A Brush with Passion: Mattia Preti (1613-1699), Paintings from North American Collections in Honor of the 400th Anniversary of his Birth, Florence 2013, p. 74, cat. no. 16, reproduced (as dating to 1656).

The subject of this painting is taken from the Book of Judges (4:11-22 and 5:24-31) and was popular among artists of the 16th and 17th centuries.  Here, the beautiful figure of Jael poses victoriously over Sisera, the Canaanite leader of King Jabin who fled the battlefield after being defeated by the Israelites.  Taking refuge one night in Jael's tent, the heroine took a hammer and a spike to his head as he slept, thereafter presenting her deed to the Israelite commander.  Although artists most often recorded the moment of Jael's actions, Mattia Preti records a somewhat quieter moment after Sisara's death.  The dramatic light is cast onto the face and torso of Jael, a beautiful figure draped in luxurious fabrics who, as the main subject of the picture, fills nearly the entirety of the composition.  With a hand resting on the hammer on the table, she gestures towards the lifeless body of Sisara in the corner.