Judith in Gold
On Gustav Klimt's "Judith I" and the woman behind that captivating gaze.
The city of Bethulia is under siege by the Assyrian army, whose mighty forces threaten to march onward to Jerusalem. The widow Judith decides to take matters into her own hands—she steals into the Assyrian camp and uses her beauty and wits to charm the general Holofernes.
One night, Judith is invited to his tent. Holofernes has had too much to drink. Witnessing the warrior reduced to a stupor, Judith takes her chance. She decapitates the general and brings his severed head back to her people. With the loss of their leader, the Assyrian forces flee.
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