One work from the European Paintings Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art seized my attention: “Judith with the Head of Holofernes” by Massimo Stanzione. It stood out from the rest of the paintings because of its color scheme. While most of the paintings in this collection, and especially this particular room, featured drab colors and clothing that was prominently in reds and neutrals, the female figure in this image was wearing bright red, blue, and yellow. This, along with the lighting that brightened up her light skin, arrest the viewer and pull all attention away from everything else in the painting and towards her. She appears as a dominant figure in this painting, which is strange to see in a time where women were largely ignored. It turns out that the story behind this painting is the Greek myth of Holofernes, in which Holofernes sneaks into the enemy camp of the Assyrians and tricks their leader, who she murders. In “Judith and the Head of Holofernes”, Judith is holding the severed head of the commander she murdered. This is a powerful painting in its avant-garde use of color, and its subject.
