Judith (or Salome?)

This painting, variously identified as Judith or Salome by Sebastiano del Piombo from around 1510, depicts a woman holding the severed head of a man — either the Hebrew heroine Judith who killed the Assyrian general Holofernes, or Salome who received John the Baptist's head as reward for her dance. The ambiguity between these two figures — both hold a severed male head, both are beautiful young women, both represent female power over male fate — reflects the Renaissance tendency to conflate them. Sebastiano's early Venetian treatment shows the influence of Giorgione in the atmospheric sfumato and the woman's dreamy, slightly detached expression that makes the gruesome subject feel oddly meditative.

Rich Venetian coloring and soft atmospheric handling characterize this work, with the luminous flesh tones and sumptuous costume reflecting Sebastiano's training under Giovanni Bellini.