Abstract
Lorenzo Sabatini (c. 1530-1576), an Italian artist working in the Mannerist period of art, created a revolutionary bloody rendering of the biblical story of Judith decapitating Holofernes. The Bolognese artist, and his painting Giuditta con la testa di Oloferne (Judith with the head of Holofernes), has not been extensively written on by scholars, therefore, this study suggests an original interpretation of the artwork. Lorenzo Sabatini would likely have borne witness to a number of decapitations in Bologna, because they were typically executed in public urban courtyards. Maturing in this sort of environment can impact an artist’s life. Through Lorenzo Sabatini’s visual representation, as well as psychoanalytic writings by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud and Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, the painting Giuditta con la testa di Oloferne, and its shocking composition will support the claim that it alludes to the male fear of strong women and castration anxiety. The Jungian archetypes are common themes that can be found within each period of art history, just as Freud’s theory of castration anxiety has become a timeless archetypal threat. Both of the psychoanalysts’ theories are present within this one sixteenth-century painting. Trepidation of the femme fatale can be found in Lorenzo Sabatini’s gruesome rendering as well as the story found in the Book of Judith.
Date of publication
Fall 12-13-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Language
english
Persistent identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/2322
Committee members
Dr. Elizabeth Lisot-Nelson, Dr. Kaia Magnusen, Alexis Serio Hughes
Degree
Masters in Art
Recommended Citation
Bellatti, Brant J., "The Fearsome Femme: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Lorenzo Sabatini's Giuditta con la testa di Oloferne" (2019). Art and Art History Theses. Paper 3.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/2322
Included in
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Art and Design Commons