Judith's Candle
The dramatic device of the single candle in Artemisia Gentileschi's 'Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes' in context
Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes (Between 1623 and 1625) by Artemisia GentileschiDetroit Institute of Arts
This dramatic, large-scale work was painted by Artemisia in about 1623–5, when she was living and working in Rome. She was in her early thirties by this point in her career and was already highly successful.
It is not known for whom Artemisia painted this picture, or where it was destined to hang. But of all her work, it is unique.
This is the only known picture by Artemisia in which she used the device of lighting an entire nocturnal scene with a single candle.
Supper at Emmaus (1601) by Michelangelo Merisi da CaravaggioThe National Gallery, London
The early 17th-century fascination among painters and their patrons for dark, dramatically-lit nocturnal scenes originated with the painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, better known simply as Caravaggio.
In his Supper at Emmaus, 1601, the dead Christ is recognised by two of his disciples as they share an evening meal.
Caravaggio's use of strong, almost theatrical lighting falling from the left, amplifies the immediacy of the action as well as the mystery of the event.
The 'chiaroscuro' – strong contrast of light and shade – also allowed Caravaggio to create startling, three-dimensional effects.
Caravaggio fled Rome in 1606 after killing a man and was himself dead by 1610. The impact of his work on the next generation, however, was huge.
The Concert (about 1626) by Hendrick ter BrugghenThe National Gallery, London
Many of Caravaggio's most enthusiastic early followers were foreign artists living and working in Rome. Among these was the artist of this picture, the Dutch painter from Utrecht, Hendrick ter Brugghen.
Ter Brugghen took up Caravaggio's practice of having ordinary people model for his pictures and painted in a highly naturalistic style.
He also played with dramatic lighting effects, specialising in the use of one or two candles to light a scene.
Christ before the High Priest (about 1617) by Gerrit van HonthorstThe National Gallery, London
Gerrit van Honthorst, another artist from Utrecht living in Rome, adopted this stylistic approach. He became famous for painting scenes illuminated by a single candle or taper.
In Honthorst's atmospheric depiction of Christ before the High Priest, about 1617, the candle holds the central ground between the bound and standing figure of Christ and his seated accuser.
Artemisia may have become acquainted with Honthorst shortly before he returned to the Netherlands in 1620. Certainly her name was popularly associated with him and other foreign artists living in the city.
Given the popularity for nocturnal paintings illuminated in this way – a great test of the artist's skill and powers of illusion – it is unsurprising that Artemisia tried the effect for herself.
Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes (Between 1623 and 1625) by Artemisia GentileschiDetroit Institute of Arts
In her scene of Judith and her maid in the moments after beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes, the single candle adds to the atmosphere of terror and danger.
It is also a work entirely in keeping with the fashion for high nocturnal drama in 1620s Rome.
Although unique in her work, this dramatic lighting device makes this one of Artemisia's most memorable paintings.
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