This artist made many versions.
In the one on my wall, her pale young face
is closed, still, calm – the delicate lips
in a thin, straight line,
the downward-looking eyes
narrowed, calculating.
Her clothes are sumptuous,
expensive, from a past era
(Renaissance?). I want a coat like that,
with green velvet sleeves
richly embroidered, like the pale red
bodice of her dress.
It’s only a print. And only a part
of the whole painting. I don’t have
other portraits on my walls (I like
landscapes and abstracts) but she
intrigued me. Eventually
I looked her up.
The part of the portrait
not shown in my print
is the wide-eyed severed head
of Holofernes, his mouth half open
in a dead scream. One of her hands
is tangled in his hair.
In some versions she holds erect
a massive sword. In most,
her expression is smug.
Her elaborate hat
and costly gown
have not a trace of blood.
The version on my wall. It’s by Lucas Cranach the Elder, painted circa 1530, which was indeed in the Renaissance period.
Written for the Early Bird prompt For Na/GloPoWriMo 2025.
A delightfully detailed ekphrastic portrait poem, Rosemary, and I agree about the coat with green velvet sleeves. I am a big fan of Gentileschi ‘s Judith.
ReplyDeleteMe too – but Cranach's is the one I was given years ago. I liked it better before I knew what it actually was.
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