Judith and Holofernes, Giorgio Vasari (1554)
This biblical heroine’s strong arms and angled shoulders create lively diagonal lines that enhance her exaggerated musculature. Judith came to the rescue when General Holofernes and the Assyrian army laid siege to her city of Bethulia. Boldly infiltrating the Assyrian camp, Judith dined with Holofernes and, once he was drunk, she beheaded him with the help of her maid Abra. Using a pose copied from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, Giorgio Vasari portrayed Judith as a physically powerful woman, a visible indication of her inner courage.
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