RIVISTA DI STUDI ITALIANI RASSEGNA BIBLIOGRAFICA JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES: A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS FRANK CAPOZZI Milwaukee, Wisconsin NTRODUCTION IThrough many transformations and interpretations of the dramatic elements of the apocryphal story of Judith and Holofernes, the biblical tale has become part of our cultural heritage and has exerted a profound influence on the creative spirit of writers and artists throughout the centuries. The Book of Judith is divided into four major sections: Nebuchadnezzar’s wars of aggression, with the description of the splendor and the cruelty of the Orient; the siege of Bethulia by the proud Holofernes and the sufferings of the people; Judith’s deceitful beguiling of Holofernes and the decapitation of the general; the triumphal return of Judith to Bethulia and the defeat of the Assyrian army. The story of Judith contains all the elements of a mythical event: the heroine is called to perform a dangerous deed; she is swallowed by the dangerous unknown, Holofernes’ tent; she is granted the supernatural assistance of God; she accomplishes her mission and safely returns to Bethulia. Writers have capitalized on one or more of these dramatic moments in order to express religious, patriotic, or social ideas, while artists have usually limited their works to the most dramatic event, the beheading of Holofernes, or to the return of Judith to Bethulia. Before the middle of the sixteenth century, Judith is usually portrayed as a moral and religious heroine, a prefiguration of Mary and of the Church, and as a political heroine (Sacra rappresentazione di Judith). During the years of the Council of Trent and soon afterwards the heroine becomes a vehicle for religious propaganda – the defender of the Catholic Church against Protestantism (Stefano Tuccio’s Juditha), or for social comments – an attack against some of the problems of sixteenth-century society (Cesare Sacchetti’s Rappresentazione di Giudith). In the tragedies written between 1580 and 1625 (Giovanni Andrea Ploti’s Giuditta, Giovanni Battista Alberti’s Oloferne, and Giovanni Angelo Lottini’s Giudetta) the heroine is portrayed as a mannered character coping with contradictions between impulsive passion and political commitment. In Federico Della Valle’s tragedy Judith is 248 JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES: A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS the heroine who rises above court intrigues and false passions; and the biblical story becomes for the author a means to condemn the corruption of the courts. Today she has become the female heroine who fights for women’s rights. As in literature, in art there is also an evolution in the interpretation of the figure of Judith. In medieval paintings and manuscript illustrations Judith is usually portrayed as an allegorical prefiguration of the Church or Mary, while during the Renaissance the heroine becomes a symbol, especially in Florence, of republicanism (the woman who single-handedly fought for freedom against tyranny – Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes). During the Early Baroque period (c. 1580-1625) the biblical story becomes a vehicle for highly dramatic action (Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi) or for dazzling opulence (Fede Galizia, Antiveduto Gramatica). In the 18th and 19th centuries she becomes a sex symbol, the temptress, the femme fatale, who destroys man (Klimt). From the seventeenth century to the present the story of Judith has appeared in countless oratorios, among which the most famous are Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans (1716), and Metastasio’s Betulia Liberata (1734); it has been a subject for an opera by Cimarosa; for a play (18th century,) written in Sicilian dialect; for an epic poem Ivditha Vindex et Vindicata (1628) by Batolomeo Tortoletti; for a play by Luigi Douclou, Betulia Liberata (1832), written in Judeo-Italian dialect; for a sacra rappresentazine Bettulia liberata dal valore di Giuditta (ca. 1775) by Gregorio Mancinelli, with servants speaking in Roman dialect; and for a ballet and various intermedii. According to Croce and D’Ancona the Rappresentazione di Giuditta was still performed in Italy during the last century. One of the latest adaptations of the story has been the Giuditta (1948), by Carlo Terron, in which Judith is an Italian girl whose house is used by a German general (Holofernes) as the headquarters of his operations. The two main characters recognize their situation and are aware of their biblical mythical roles. At the end of the tragedy, the general is poisoned with a glass of wine and Judith is shot with a pistol by her friend and lover, because she has dared to love the enemy. There have been various films and television adaptations of the biblical story. The most unusual depiction is by the American artist, Judith G. Klausner, who has done a three- dimensional depiction of the decapitation of Holofernes with mantises, fabric, paint, clay, and sand. The story of Judith and Holofernes is a mythical representation of mankind being lost in a world without God, of the destruction of evil through the self abnegation of a woman and the intercession of God, and of mankind’s search for peace, both political and religious. When in the early 1970s I was writing my dissertation it was a time consuming research looking for literary and visual representation of the biblical story; today, with the use of the Internet, one can easily research libraries and museums and galleries all over the world. The following list 249 FRANK CAPOZZI does not pretend to be inclusive of all the works extant. Especially with manuscript illuminations, and woodcuts and prints, when the artists made many copies and later restrikes were done so the same work can be found in various museums and art galleries or art dealers. Furthermore, I don’t list any of the references about Judith in the religious and literary works, from the Father of the Church, to Dante and Shakespeare, Camille and Paglia. Not all the works which I list have great literary or artistic importance. Therefore, except for the masterpieces by major artists, e.g. Caravaggio, Gentileschi, the oil paintings and the prints are not usually on display in the museums which own them. The same could be said about the oratorios and the musical compositions, which are rarely if ever staged or performed as they were composed by minor musicians. Nevertheless, they are significant for the knowledge and understanding of the period during which they were created. They are mirrors of the conditions intrinsic to a particular moment in history; therefore they show how the biblical tale of Judith and Holofernes has been adopted and interpreted to suit the needs of the times. I am planning to publish a more complete list in the future. Meanwhile, I would recommend the following bibliographical references. For an excellent list of medieval manuscripts the Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts of the National Library of the Netherlands: www.kb.nl/manuscripts/search/simple/judith 40000 Meisterwerke: DVD 1, Grafik und Zeichnung; DVD 2, Malerei. Berlin, 2007. The Yorck Project. ISBN: 9783936122350 The Illustrated Bartsch, with over 50,000 images of Old Master European prints. This work is based on Adam von Bartsch’s (1757-1821) unillustrated catalog of Old Master prints. www.artbible.info New York, Metropolitan Museum: www.metmuseum.org/works-of- art/collection_database/drawings_and_prints/judith www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/all/Judith For a research on French location: www.culture.gouv.fr The Art Institute of Chicago www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 250 JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES: A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS The New Grove Dictionary of Opera commons.wikimedia.org is a good source for reproductions; however, the data (artist, author, date, locations, size, etc.) has to be checked against more trustworthy sources. *** 1. 8th cent. Judith. Fresco, Rome, S. Maria Antiqua. Joseph Wilpert, Die roemischen Mosaiken und Malereien, IV, Pl. 161. 2. C. 870. Judith Departing Bethulia, Judith before Holofernes, Judith Slaying Holofernes. Bible of Charles the Bald, fol. 24v, Rome, S. Paolo fuori le Mura. 3. 9th cent. “Judith”. Bible of Leo. Rome, Vatican Library, Reg. gr. 1, fol. 383r. Frances G. Godwin, “The Judith Illustrations of the Hortus Deliciarum,” Fig. 2. 4. 10th cent. Judith. An old English epic fragment. Edited by Albert S. Cook. Boston: D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers, 1904. Also, translated in modern English by James M. Garnett. Boston: Ginn & Company, Publishers, 1902. 5. Late 11th cent. “Judith”. Bible from Parma. Rome, Vatican Library, ms. Lat. 4. Godwin, Fig. 2. 6. Late 11th cent. “Judith”. Bible. Munich, Staatsbibliotheck, Clm 13001, fol. 121. Godwin, Fig. 7. 7. 1097. “Judith”. Bible, Codex Barberini, Rome, Vatican Library, ms. Lat. 587. Godwin, Fig. 3. 8. C. 12th cent. The Story of Judith and Lucifer’s Fall. Manuscript. Harburg: coll. L.E.K.F. 9. 12th cent. Tric-trac game piece: Judith and Holofernes. Found in Bayeux in 1838. Ivory, diam. 5.50 cm. cartelen.louvre.fr 10. Early 12th cent. “Judith”. Bible. Rome, Vatican Library, ms. Lat. 129578. Godwin, Fig. 9. 251 FRANK CAPOZZI 11. C. 1220. Judith Praying for Divine Guidance. Chartres: Cathedral, north porch, archivolt. 12. 1300-1320. Judith and Holofernes. Miniature. Pécs: Episcopal Library. 13. Early 14th cent. “Judith”. Bible. New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, ms. 436, fol. 173v. Godwin, Fig. 10. 14. Mid 14th cent.“Judith”. The Divine Comedy. Paris, Arsenal, ms. 8530, 170r. P. Brieger, M. Meiss, and C. Singleton, Illuminated Manuscripts of the Divine Comedy, II, 514, fig. b. 15. C. 1350-1375. “Judith”. The Divine Comedy. Holkham Hall, Library of the Earl of Leicester, ms. 514. Pp. 79, 145. Brieger, II, 365, Fig. a; 515, Fig. a. 16. Late 14th cent. “Judith”. The Divine Comedy. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, ms. 676, 62v. Brieger, II, 365, Fig. a. 17. Early 15th cent. “Judith with the Head of Holofernes”.