Judith

Draped in sheer black silk, a woman gazes down with an expression of pure ecstasy.
Cradled in her right hand is the severed head of a man.

This painting must depict Salome, the archetypal femme fatale who sought a man's head.
Critics of the time mistook her for this figure, and the misconception persisted for years.

Yet in truth, she was Judith from the very beginning.

Judith is the Old Testament heroine who saved her homeland by beheading the enemy general, Holofernes.
Look closely at the top of the brass frame enclosing the painting.
There, clearly inscribed, are the words "JUDITH UND HOLOFERNES."
The frame was crafted by the artist's brother, Georg Klimt, based on Gustav's design.

Why, then, was she mistaken for Salome?

Because there is not a single blade depicted anywhere in the painting.
The bloodstained sword, indispensable to traditional depictions of Judith.
The dramatic scene of slaughter.
Klimt eliminated them entirely.

Vienna, 1901.
Gustav Klimt was in the midst of fierce public backlash.

The previous year, in 1900.
He had unveiled Philosophy, the first work for the University of Vienna's Great Hall ceiling.
In March 1901, he followed with Medicine at the Tenth Secession Exhibition.
However, conservative professors and Catholic politicians were incensed.
"Obscene."
"A desecration of art."

Besieged by public condemnation, Klimt retreated into deeper psychological isolation.
Financially, he enjoyed the support of wealthy patrons.
Yet rejection by society weighed heavily upon him.

To confront society with his uncompromising artistic vision.
That was why he embarked on Judith I.
It was not a commissioned work, but a creation born entirely of his own volition.

For his model, he chose Adele Bloch-Bauer.
A modern socialite who presided over a wealthy Viennese salon.
With her sophisticated makeup and fashionable coiffure,
she appeared not as an ancient savior, but as a living woman of contemporary Vienna seen at the theater.