Judith (or Salome?)

In Venice around 1510 Judith was everywhere. The widow who beheaded the Assyrian general Holofernes to save her city suited a republic that liked stories of a would-be conqueror brought down, and Cariani, Catena and Titian all painted her. So the National Gallery thinks this young woman is probably the same heroine. The difficulty is what she carries. A severed head on a metal dish usually belongs to Salome, who was given the head of John the Baptist on a charger, while Judith tends to carry hers in a sack, with a sword in hand and a maidservant close by. Here there is no sword and no maid, which is why the title still ends with a question mark. She turns to look back over her shoulder, lips pressed shut, her eyes glinting with moisture. Sebastiano painted the date 1510 on the stone ledge beneath the dish.