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Page 2
Contrast this with Gentileschi's version, and we see a clearly different portrayal. Here, a more robust and powerful Judith is much more engaged, actively reaching in to decapitate her enemy. She holds her sword in one hand, while holding down the Holofernes' head with the other. The look on her face is one of calm determination, rather than fear. As opposed to Caravaggio's elderly maidservant, who stands behind Judith, Gentileschi's younger maidservant stands almost beside her, helping her mistress by further restraining the general.
Orazio Gentileschi's version depicts a seated Judith and maidservant as having been in the process of wrapping Holofernes' head. However, an outside sound has interrupted their work. Each woman directs her attention in a separate direction, as if not knowing from where the sound is coming. Looking at Judith's expression, we can see a hint of fear beginning to surface on her face. Meanwhile, she holds both her sword and one end of the basket in one hand. The set-up of characters is almost something out of a screwball comedy, in which two inept heroes try to save the day, despite their shortcomings. Artemisia Gentileschi's aftermath image, on the other hand, depicts two women who appear very much in control of the situation. They, too, stop what they are doing, as if having heard something outside. However, as in the previous example, we can clearly see a difference between these two scenes. The latter example shows Judith rising from a bent position. She and her still kneeling maidservant calmly direct their attention in the same direction. Judith uses her hand to block the glare of the flame to facilitate her view, while directing the blade of her sword toward the darkened rear of the interior. Whatever happens, the women plan to confront it calmly and apparently with a plan of escape. So, what can we deduce from these examples vis-à-vis the real-life events of Artemisia Gentileschi? Both paintings depict a woman who is determined to eliminate a man who poses a threat to both her and her village's well-being. Rather than acting with regret or fear, she executes her goal calmly. If we look at this on a Freudian level, we can equate the act of decapitation with that of castration. In a nutshell, Freud argues that, upon initially seeing the female genitalia, young boys interpret the woman's absence of a penis as a wound. They rationalise that the woman once had a penis but did something "wrong" or "bad" to deserve its removal. From this point forward, the boy may fear that women may try to remove his penis to level the playing field. This is where the issue of castration anxiety comes into play. On an unconscious level, the amputation of any body part may equate with castration. This is especially true with the head, being the most important part of the human body. For men, this importance is shared with the penis. The fact that a woman is so intent on the beheading and subsequent disposal of a man may have a correlation to an unconscious desire on the part of the artist to punish her attacker by removing the very thing he used to commit the crime.
The copyright of the article Judith as Therapist: Gentileschi's Active Heroine - Page 2 in Women Painters is owned by . Permission to republish Judith as Therapist: Gentileschi's Active Heroine - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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