Through Judith to see the work styles of Giorgione

Giorgione was an Italian painter who was born in 1477 and died in 1510. The work, “Judith” was created in 1510. It’s oil on canvas.  According to the Old Testament, Judith was the patriotic Jewish heroine and also was seen as the symbol of defiance of the ancient Jews in the Near East oppressed. In the arts, her image was always that picking the head of Assyria General Holofernes that she cut off with her own hands. The Assyrian army once attacked the Jewish city Bedouin Elijah. When they decided to surrender because lack of supports, a rich and beautiful widow - Judith set up a plan and saved the city.  She knew that “any man would get caught just because of a glance of her.” Therefore, she burst into the military camp of the Assyrian maid with her maidservant. She falsely stated that she was expelled by the people of the city, thus she was accepted by the General. She also concocted a series of plans to deceive the enemy go to town, so that she could stay in the camp for a few days. The General fell in love with her soon, and invited her to a banquet. After the banquet, he left her alone, however he was looped although he was purposed to tempt. Judith realized that her chance was at hand and pulled out the sword immediately, cut off his head. Her maid packed the head into a ready pocket. They hurried back that some night while the thing had not been found.  When the fierce was spread, the camp of the Assyrian was in a mess. The Israelis stroke out, the enemies flee at the mere sight of the oncoming force. The Jews got victory out of defeat.  The image of Judith firstly appeared in the Middle Ages, as the symbol of virtues triumphed over evils and may be accompanied with the implied meaning of modest and courteous. There were many works were created in the Renaissance Period, the scene of her victory was always side with the paintings “Samson and Delilah” and “Aristotle and Compad Sibei.”  The image of Judith under his brush was perfect. Her hair was clean and flat, her eyelids were droopy and her sights were downward-looking. Judith seemed was unable to hold the heavy sword and had to manage the gesture with an effort. Her foot pointed above the head of the General gently.   Some people think that Judith was the prototype of the Thierry Polo Virgin. In the works of the virgin, she often touched on a sphere with one foot slightly or trod on a snake which symbolized evils with the attitude of a winner. People found a painting in his workshop as well, Judith was a young woman moving through the countryside in the painting and one hand with a sword another one with an olive branch. A maid was following her and there was a head in her basket.  People thought Judith was Raphael’s work before the 19th century. Indeed, the clear and beautiful art styles of the two were exactly similar. But what was different from the characters under Raphael’s brush was that Judith was too self-absorbed, she had not eyes contacts with the audiences. She was just immersed in the joy of victory and completely never took account into what big shocks she brought to them.  If it was Raphael’s work, the processing methods would be more concise and lost this very subtle psychological experience. The most dramatic and moving part of Judith is the tranquil atmosphere, the deeply touching grasses, trees, walls, mountains and fabrics depicted in a naturalistic approaches.  Giorgione inherited the skills of his teacher Giovanni Bellini and was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci, and caught people’s eyes with his unique style and became a major representative of the early Venetian school after apprenticeship. He attached great importance to the study of aerosolized brushwork and contained expressions. The characters in his works were both with quiet, elegant demeanors and subtle, rich flavors. His skills of color application and atmosphere foil were carried forward by Titian and so on, had become the important artistic heritage of the Venetian school.