My novel Judith was inspired by a painting of Judith and Holofernes that has been in my family since at least the 1930s, possibly much longer, and hangs in my house today. The painting is oil on canvas that at some point was cut from its stretcher and glued to a board. The extremely heavy plaster frame may or may not be original. Because it is unsigned, we suspect it is a copy, although many Google searches have failed to find a similar rendition. While the original may have been lost to history, I have a theory this painting may have been mass produced and sold along with furniture and other home furnishings back in the day - much like you can buy sofa, a frying pan and artwork at Ikea today.
The painting depicts the story of Judith, a beautiful widow from the town of Bethulia, in Judea. The army of Assyrian King Nebukenezzer, led by the general Holofernes has conquered all of Judea except for a few cities, including Bethulia, which Holofernes' army has besieged. Judith gains the trust of Holofernes and dines with him at his camp. She plies him with liquor and joins Holofernes in his tent where she kills and beheads him. Judith has her maid, who has accompanied her to the camp, place the head in a satchel.
When they return to the Bethulia at dawn, Judith shows the severed head to the townspeople, who inspired by her bravery, rise up and rout the Assyrian army. Judith is a popular subject in art with works from everyone from Caravaggio and Botticelli to Goya, Titian and Klimt. As a symbol of Jewish strength and piety, paintings, of Judith have been popular in Jewish households.
The painting depicts the story of Judith, a beautiful widow from the town of Bethulia, in Judea. The army of Assyrian King Nebukenezzer, led by the general Holofernes has conquered all of Judea except for a few cities, including Bethulia, which Holofernes' army has besieged. Judith gains the trust of Holofernes and dines with him at his camp. She plies him with liquor and joins Holofernes in his tent where she kills and beheads him. Judith has her maid, who has accompanied her to the camp, place the head in a satchel.
When they return to the Bethulia at dawn, Judith shows the severed head to the townspeople, who inspired by her bravery, rise up and rout the Assyrian army. Judith is a popular subject in art with works from everyone from Caravaggio and Botticelli to Goya, Titian and Klimt. As a symbol of Jewish strength and piety, paintings, of Judith have been popular in Jewish households.
The Restoration
My grandparents, Marianna & Carl Stamm, along with my mother Gabrielle - known as Gaby to all who knew her - and my uncle Steve emigrated from Berlin to Philadelphia in 1936 to escape the Nazis. We have no proof that my grandparents brought the painting with them from Germany – my mother was six years old and my uncle four when they emigrated so their memories were fuzzy. It may have been purchased after they arrived in Philadelphia. My mother recalled that it was restored in Philadelphia. Whoever performed that job really botched it. There was a thick layer of brown overpaint on the background behind Judith and her maid, and the varnish was laid on so thickly that you could see drip marks.
After my Oma died, the painting sat in my brother's basement and then hung in my house for approximately 20 years. Various moves, environments and time left the painting with scratches, areas of paint loss, and yellowed varnish.
My grandparents, Marianna & Carl Stamm, along with my mother Gabrielle - known as Gaby to all who knew her - and my uncle Steve emigrated from Berlin to Philadelphia in 1936 to escape the Nazis. We have no proof that my grandparents brought the painting with them from Germany – my mother was six years old and my uncle four when they emigrated so their memories were fuzzy. It may have been purchased after they arrived in Philadelphia. My mother recalled that it was restored in Philadelphia. Whoever performed that job really botched it. There was a thick layer of brown overpaint on the background behind Judith and her maid, and the varnish was laid on so thickly that you could see drip marks.
After my Oma died, the painting sat in my brother's basement and then hung in my house for approximately 20 years. Various moves, environments and time left the painting with scratches, areas of paint loss, and yellowed varnish.
Before Restoration
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Paint Loss (detail)
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Scratch (detail)
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During Covid I became obsessed with the Baumgartner Restoration YouTube channel and decided to look into having the painting restored. After a consultation, I engaged Sable Fine Art Restoration in Washington, DC to perform the work. Initial tests showed promise revealing much brighter colors under the yellowed varnish.
Blue Sky!
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Purple Mountains!
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Cleaning revealed a fair amount of paint loss. It also revealed the strange choices the previous restorer made. To cover the paint loss, they unnecessarily added clouds to what had been a cloudless sky. There appears to be no reason for the brown overpaint in the background behind Judith. Removal of the overpaint reveled a detailed backgound with the Judean landscape, palm trees and even the tents of Holofernes' camp! There was very little paint loss in that area - so why did they cover it with ugly brown overpaint?
After Cleaning
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Background Detail (before cleaning)
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Backgound Detail (after cleaning)
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The final result is remarkable. From damaged and dingy to bright and luminous.
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