Agostino Beltrano Naples, 1607-1656
Judith and Holofernes, ca. 1648 - 1652
oil on canvas
height 18 7/8 in
height 48 cm
height 48 cm
Literature
UnpublishedExpertise by Nicola Spinosa
The couple of round paintings (David with the head of Goliath celebrated by Jewish girls) is a mature masterpiece by Agostino Beltrano, a Neapolitan artist active in the first half of the 17th Century. According to the studies they can be dated between the end of 1640 and the beginning of 1650.
In this painting the protagonist is Judith, who is depicted after killing the Nebuchadnezzar’s army commander, Holofernes. In the half-light behind the heroine appears the handmaid, who is ready to wrap the severed head of the warrior and to bring it back to the city of Bethlehem, recognizable in the background.
It can be infered that Agostino Beltrano, like other contemporaries of his, knew the artworks by Massimo Stanzione. However, he added a moderate interest in a neo-Venetian and Rubensian way typical of Giovan Benedetto Castiglione and Pietro Novelli.
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