Judith from Heroes and Heroines of the Old Testament

Judith is depicted as a statuesque figure in billowing robes, presenting the head of Holofernes after infiltrating the enemy camp to save her city. The background features a detailed landscape with the tents of the Assyrian army on the left and the walled city of Bethulia in the distance. This engraving belongs to a series of Old Testament heroes and heroines designed in the hyper-refined Dutch Mannerist style.

As a central figure of the Haarlem Mannerist movement, Goltzius's biblical subjects often functioned as moral allegories for the soul's triumph over material tyranny. This print reflects the Neostoic and spiritualist environment of late 16th-century Haarlem, where Judith was celebrated as an emblem of divine strength manifest in human virtue (Virtus).