View of the City of Bethulia

The Book of Jude, which is part of the Catholic Christian Bible, relates the feats of Judith, heroine of the Jewish people, who liberated the city of Bethulia when it was under siege from the Assyrians led by King Nebuchadnezzar.

Holofernes, the Assyrian general, who had a crush on Judith, invited her to a banquet. The lady took advantage of the fact that Holofernes was drunk and cut off his head with her own sword.

On her return to Bethulia, Judith triumphantly showed Holofernes' head to her people.

Deprived of their leader, the Assyrians were easily driven off by the Jews.

The story of Judith is among the most frequently told in 16th century iconography, given the evocative force of the heroine who triumphs over the bullying invader using seduction and violence.

Less common are iconographic representations of the city of Bethulia alone, a city of Judea mentioned in the Old Testament, whose historical origins have never been confirmed.

For this reason, the image pictured on the panel dedicated to the city, entitled View of the city of Betulia arouses great interest; it is attributed to Corrado de Mochis and based on cartoons by Giuseppe Arcimboldi, dated between 1549 and 1557.