Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes

Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi painted this Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, showing the aftermath of the biblical heroine's deadly act. The women pause in tense alertness, candlelight illuminating their faces as they listen for approaching guards. Judith holds the sword while her maid carries the severed head.

Gentileschi returned to this subject repeatedly, creating some of the most powerful images of female heroism in Baroque art. Her dramatic lighting shows Caravaggio's influence, whom she knew through her father. This painting hangs at the Detroit Institute of Arts.