Judith met het hoofd van Holofernes, RP-P-1891-A-16564

Judith stands prominently in an ornate gown and feathered headdress, holding the sword used for the deed. Her servant, wearing a turban, holds open a bag to receive the head of Holofernes while looking up at Judith with an expression of urgency. The scene is set at night outside a military tent under a crescent moon and stars, rendered with the dense, swelling lines characteristic of the artist's style.

As a central figure of the Haarlem Mannerists, Goltzius used biblical narratives like Judith as allegories for the triumph of virtue over vice. In Northern humanist and Neoplatonic circles, this scene often symbolized the soul's victory over the tyranny of the senses and earthly passions.