Chapter 23

Ten Most Famous Women of the Bible in Art

In This Chapter

Depicting some notorious Old Testament women

Illustrating admirable Old and New Testament figures

Portraying the Virgin Mary, the most recognized woman in art

M edieval and early Renaissance art was heavily oriented to Biblical themes. Stories in the Bible were not only popular but also profitable. Many of the wealthy wanted to show off their riches by having works of art in their estates. The poor who were illiterate also depended on religious art to teach them what was in the Bible. Church leaders supported the arts to assist in educating the believers, whether through stained glass, wood panels, or frescoes, as long as the image accurately portrayed what was written in the Bible.

Women in the Bible have always been a favorite subject for artists, from painters and sculptors, to authors and composers alike. This section looks at the ten most famous women of the Bible depicted in art. Most of them have been preserved for posterity in oil on canvas, but other media have also been used, such as Michelangelo’s sculpture, the Pietà, or the aria Ave Maria . We point out to you the various masterpieces and the central female characters from Scripture who are the subjects of each work of art.

Judith

Judith, discussed in the deuterocanonical book, or Apocrypha, under the same name (see Chapter 2 for more on the Apocrypha), is depicted in no less than 15 masterpieces, spanning the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries AD. She is the subject of five operas and oratorios and several poems and plays. The scene of Judith with the severed head of Holofernes — which she herself cut off with his own sword — is most dramatic. Artists often depict her as demure, young, beautiful, and elegant, while her nemesis, Holofernes, is shown as either grotesque or at least very intimidating. Check out Chapter 8 for more on Judith’s story.

Figure 23-1 shows a painting of Judith standing on top of the severed head of Holofernes. She stands in a casual pose, nonchalantly looking down as if seeing a piece of rubbish on the ground. Giorgione portrays Judith as a very young, beautiful, and dainty woman holding the masculine sword that decapitated the general. The artist contrasts this unlikely and uneven pair: the elegant and graceful Judith and the powerful and menacing Holofernes (whose name is spelled one of two ways, the other being Holophernes).

Following is a list of some of the most famous depictions and performances based on Judith:

Judith and Holophernes by Giorgione (1504), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Sodoma (real name: Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) (1477–1549), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Donatello (1460), bronze statue

Judith and Holophernes by Boticelli (1472), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Johann Martin Schmidt (Kremser-Schmidt) (1718–1801), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Michelangelo (1509), Sistine Chapel ceiling, fresco painting

Judith and Holophernes by Artemisia Gentileschi (1612), painting

Judith and Nebuchadnezzar by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1530), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Jan Massys (1543), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Andrea Mantegna (1495), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Cristoforo Allori (1613), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Tintoretto (1550), painting

Judith and Holophernes by Francesco Solimena (1733), painting

Judith und Holofernes by Leopold Kotzeluch (1799), opera/oratorio

Giuditta by S. Levi (1844), opera/oratorio

Giuditta by Salvadori and Gagliano (1626), opera/oratorio

L’Amor insanguinato by Beccau (1720), opera/oratorio

Juditha Triumphans by Antonio Vivaldi (1716), opera/oratorio

Judith by Martin Opitz (1635), drama

Judith by W. Schmeltzl and Hans Sachs (1542), poem

Figure 23-1: Judith with the Head of Holophernes by Giorgione (1504). Located in Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Scala/Art Resource, NY

Delilah

Delilah is the most famous biblical femme fatale of them all. After all, she used her feminine wiles to seduce the secret of Samson’s strength out of him, only to betray him. After she figures out how to defeat her lover, she cuts his hair while he’s asleep in her bed, rendering him vulnerable — and allowing his captors to gouge out his eyes and restrain him. Samson’s hair eventually grows back, enabling him to destroy 3,000 Philistines and probably Delilah as well. See Chapter 16 for more on Delilah. Her story is portrayed in the opera by Camille Saint-Saens titled Samson et Dalila (1877), and several paintings depict her, usually showing her with a pair of scissors.

Figure 23-2 shows Delilah snipping the hair of Samson while he sleeps. She does so carefully so as not to awaken him. Cignani captures the intimacy of Samson falling asleep in the lap of his lover, while she gingerly robs him of his super strength.

Figure 23-2: Samson and Delilah by Carlo Cignani (1628–1719). Located in Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna, Italy.

Scala/Art Resource, NY

Following are some of the most famous depictions of Delilah:

Delilah Cuts Samson’s Hair by Albrecht Durer (1493), woodcut

Samson and Delilah by Peter Paul Rubens (1609), painting

Samson and Delilah by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1529), painting

Samson and Delilah by Sir Anthony van Dyck (1620), painting

Samson and Delilah by Adrien van der Werff (1659–1722), painting

Samson Betrayed by Delilah by Rembrandt (1630), painting

Salome (and Her Mother, Herodias)

Another favorite female subject in biblical art is Salome. Salome was encouraged by her mother to influence her stepfather with a seductive dance, which eventually led to John the Baptist’s beheading. Operas and paintings depict the infamous dance that Salome performed for her stepfather and also the grisly scene of the head of John the Baptist on a platter that’s presented by Salome to her mother, Herodias. Head to Chapter 17 for more on this story. The best-known opera is Salome by Richard Strauss (1905), which was based on the play of the same name by Oscar Wilde (1893).

Figure 23-3 shows Salome, the daughter of Herodias, holding a platter with the head of John the Baptist. She looks away from the grisly sight, possibly showing detachment from the heinous crime that has been committed.

Here are some other famous depictions of Salome:

Salome with the Head of the Baptist by Caravaggio (1609), painting

Salome by Alonso Berruguete (1516), painting

Salome by Titian (1515), painting

The Apparition by Gustave Moreau (1826–1898), painting

The Dance of Salome by Benozzo Gozzoli (1462), painting

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (1524), painting

Herodias by Bernadino Luini (1531), painting

Daughter of Herodias Receiving the Head of John the Baptist by Gustave Dore (1865), engraving

Herodias’ Revenge by Juan de Flandes (1496), painting

Herodias Receiving the Head of John The Baptist by Giovanni del Biondo (1370), painting

Figure 23-3: Salome Holding the head of Saint John the Baptist by Bernardino Luini (c.1475– 1532). Located in the Louvre, Paris, France.

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Esther

Queen Esther has captured the imagination of many artists through the centuries. She was the Hebrew woman who married the Persian king and saved her people from destruction by exposing the evil and corrupt second-in-command (Haman), who plotted to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom. With the help of her uncle, Mordecai, Esther used her position as queen and her relationship as the beloved wife of King Ahasuerus to save her people. Typically, she is shown with royal attire, her crown, and throne. Turn to Chapter 8 for the story of Esther.

Figure 23-4 shows Esther flanked by two servants, while she appears to be daydreaming. This painting probably depicts her preparation for marrying the King of Persia and her subsequent coronation as queen. Esther’s youth and beauty are quite evident in this depiction by Chasseriau.

Some famous depictions of Esther include the following:

Queen Esther by Andrea del Castagno (1450), painting

Esther by François-Léon Benouville (1844), painting

Figure 23-4: Esther at her Toilette by Theodore Chasseriau (1819–1856). Located in the Louvre, Paris, France.

Scala/Art Resource, NY

Esther Made Queen by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1860), engraving

Esther and Ahasuerus by Bernardo Cavallino (1650), painting

Ahasuerus, Haman and Esther by Rembrandt (1660), painting

Esther before Ahasuerus by Peter Paul Rubens (1620), painting

Esther before Ahasuerus by Nicolas Poussin (1640), painting

Esther before Ahasuerus by Claude Vignon (1624), painting

Gantze Histori der Hester by Hans Sachs (1530), play

Esther by George Friedrich Händel (1718), opera/oratorio

Bathsheba

Bathsheba (see Chapter 16) inspired King David to break many a commandment. Although married to Uriah, she had an affair with King David when her husband, Uriah, was away in battle. And when she became pregnant with David’s child, the king arranged for Uriah’s “accidental” death so he could marry Bathsheba and avoid scandal. Although her first child with David died as a result of their sins, their second son, Solomon, became the third and last king of the unified kingdom of Israel.

Figure 23-5 shows Bathsheba in a painting by the famous Peter Paul Rubens. Here Bathsheba at the fountain shows off, revealing her beauty. Some people believe that — in the upper left corner of this painting —King David is luridly looking at Bathsheba from his palace.

The following famous works of art portray Bathsheba:

David and Bathsheba by Raphael (1519), painting

Bathsheba at Her Bath by Rembrandt (1654), painting

Bathsheba at the Bath by Sebastiano Ricci (1720), painting

Bathsheba at the Fountain by Peter Paul Rubens (1635), painting

Bathsheba by Giovanni Battista Naldini (1570), painting

David and Bathsheba by David (Frederick) Barlow (1969), opera/oratorio

Figure 23-5: Bathsheba at the Fountain by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). Located in Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Germany.

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Queen of Sheba

The Queen of Sheba (discussed in Chapter 12) came from the farthest corner of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. Although she’s never given a proper name in the Bible, her appearance at the court of King Solomon is nonetheless still memorable. The Queen of Sheba tested him with questions, puzzles, and riddles to learn if he was truly the wisest man in the world. Jesus even remarked that the queen of the south (Sheba) shall rise up in judgment on his generation, because the people didn’t appreciate his wisdom like Sheba did Solomon’s. In art, she is almost always shown with Solomon as an equal peer or colleague, unlike the other people at court.

Figure 23-6 shows the Queen of Sheba embracing King Solomon. Raphael also includes the royal tribute (the four and a half tons of gold and spices and precious stones mentioned in 1 Kings 10:1–13) that the Bible says the Queen of Sheba brought with her to give to the king of Israel.

Important works of art that depict the Queen of Sheba include the following:

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba by Konrad Witz (1435), painting

“Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” from Solomon by G.F. Handel (1748), opera/oratorio

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba by Konrad Witz (1435), painting

Queen of Sheba and Solomon by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1860), engraving

Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba by Claude Lorrain (1648), painting

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba by Giovanni Demin (unknown), painting

Solomon Receiving the Queen of Sheba by Gustave Dore (1865), engraving

Solomon and Sheba with Yul Brenner and Gina Lollobrigida, United Artists (1959), movie

Figure 23-6: The Meeting with the Queen of Sheba, school of Raphael (1483–1520). Located in Logge, Vatican Palace, Vatican State.

Scala/Art Resource, NY

Martha and Mary

Jesus spent a great deal of time with Martha and Mary, the two sisters of Lazarus. These sisters are very different; Martha is a type A personality who is concerned about the details of hospitality, whereas Mary is a type B — more relaxed, informal, casual, and adaptable. Martha represents the active life of a Christian, whereas Mary is the personification of the contemplative. Both personalities and spiritualities are important. You can read more about them in Chapter 13.

Figure 23-7 shows Jesus in the home of Martha and Mary, depicting the two sisters with their different attitudes. Martha is busy with the details of hospitality, so the artist shows her holding a tray of drinking glasses, while her sister Mary takes time to attentively listen to Christ as he speaks. Mary also holds an alabaster jar of costly oil, which she will use to anoint his feet (John 12:3).

These two women have been portrayed in the following major works of art:

Martha and Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio (1598), painting

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by Peter Paul Rubens (1628), painting

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by William Blake (1805), painting

Figure 23-7: Christ in the House of Mary and Martha by Alessandro Allori (1535–1607). Located in Kunst- historisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by Tintoretto (1575), painting

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by Jan Vermeer van Delft (1655), painting

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez (1618), painting

Mary Magdalene

No other biblical woman claims as much notoriety or misperception as Mary Magdalene (see more on this in Chapter 22). One of the female disciples of Christ, she is best known for her conspicuous presence at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified, and she also was the first to visit the empty tomb on Easter morning after Jesus had risen from the dead. She is often depicted in art either at Calvary with the Virgin Mary and St. John the Apostle or at the empty tomb. She is also portrayed as a repentant sinner — sometimes as a reformed prostitute. Head back to Chapter 7 for Mary Magdalene’s complete story.

Figure 23-8 shows Mary Magdalene holding an alabaster jar of oil, presumably to anoint the feet of Jesus. Medieval artists often depicted Mary Magdalene as the public sinner who washed and anointed the feet of Jesus (Luke 7:37–38). Bacchiacca also shows her in elegant clothing and wearing red, possibly indicating her former profession. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly thought that Mary Magdalene was a reformed prostitute, possibly the woman caught in adultery in John 7:53–8:11. Today, scholars debate her profession, her background, and whether she anointed the feet of Jesus at all.

Some important works featuring Mary Magdalene include the following:

Mary Anointing Jesus’ Feet by Peter Paul Rubens (1618), painting

Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene by Rembrandt (1638), painting

St. Cecilia with Ss. Paul, John Evangelist, Augustine and Mary Magdalene by Raphael (1516), painting

Christ between the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist, with John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene by Rogier van der Weyden (1450), painting

Penitent Mary Magdalene by Titian (1560), painting

St. Mary Magdalene by El Greco (1585), painting

Mary Magdalene Speaking to the Angels, by Giotto (1320), fresco

Martha and Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio (1598), painting

Crucifixion by Raffaello (1503), painting

The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene by Perugino (1485), painting

Crucifixion by Salvador Dali (1954), painting

Figure 23-8: St. Mary Magdalene by Bacchiacca (Francesco Ubertini, 1494–1557). Located in Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy.

Alinari/Art Resource, NY

Eve

The first woman, the first wife, and first mother of the human race is Eve. Genesis tells us that God created her from the rib of her husband, Adam — which is why Adam referred to her as “bone of bone and flesh of my flesh.” Tempted by the serpent, Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and enticed Adam to do likewise. For their disobedience, they were expelled from the Garden of Paradise. Eve then had two sons, Cain and Abel, until the former killed the latter. After Cain murdered his brother, he became an outcast, and Eve and Adam had another son, Seth, who would continue the lineage. Head back to Chapter 5 for more on Eve.

Eve has been the subject of art for millennia because all three monotheistic and Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) acknowledge her existence. She is often depicted without clothes in the Garden of Eden before the Fall, and with fig leaves or animal skins after the Fall.

Figure 23-9 shows Eve, the first woman and the wife of Adam, holding in her hand the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. The wily serpent lurks in the background, dangling on the branch of the tree where he had just tempted Eve to take a sample of the fruit. Eve also appears to be offering the fruit to Adam, after she has eaten a piece. Medieval artists universally used an apple in their depiction of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, yet the Bible never mentions what kind of fruit it actually was.

Major works of art that feature Eve include:

Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), opera/oratorio

Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667), poem

Eve by Andrea del Castagno (1450), painting

Eve and the Apple by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1578), painting

Fall of Adam and Eve by Giovanni Bon (1410), painting

Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1533), painting

Rebuke of Adam and Eve by Domenichino (1626), painting

Adam and Eve by Albrech Durer (1504), engraving

Eve by Paul Gauguin (1890), sculpture

Creation of Eve by Michelangelo (1510), painting

Adam and Eve Banished from Eden by Raphael (1519), painting

Eve Eating the Apple by Rodin (1885), sculpture

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise by Benjamin West (1791), painting

Figure 23-9: Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder Cranach (1472–1553). Located in Museum der Bildenden Kuenste, Leipzig, Germany.

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Virgin Mary

Writer G.K. Chesterton once remarked that although the face of Helen of Troy adorned a thousand ships and the face of Queen Victoria was printed on thousands of coins and currency throughout the British Empire, only the face of Virgin Mary is better known and more recognized and has been universally loved throughout the ages.

The mother of Jesus has been depicted in more works of art than any human being in all of human history. Spanning two millennia, this woman of the Bible is the most readily identifiable female person even among non-Christians and nonbelievers. No other woman has had as many paintings, stained glass pieces, sculptures, frescoes, mosaics, poems, plays, hymns, arias, churches, or cathedrals named in her honor. Typically, the Virgin Mary is depicted with the baby or child Jesus, as the Sorrowful Mother at the foot of the cross at Calvary, or being assumed body and soul into heaven after her death. Read Chapter 6 for more on her story.

Figure 23-10 shows the Virgin Mary nursing the baby Jesus with Anthony of Padua on the right and Mary Magdalene on the left. Mary Magdalene is holding the alabaster jar of oil to anoint the feet of Jesus. Neither Magdalene nor Anthony of Padua, however, would have been present when Jesus was an infant, because Mary Magdalene was a contemporary of Jesus and would have been too young, if born at all at that time, and Anthony of Padua was a Franciscan friar who lived in Portugal during the thirteenth century (Jesus lived during the first century).

Following are just a fraction of the works dedicated to the Virgin Mary’s image:

Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris (finished in 1250), church

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. (finished in 1959), church

Basilica de Guadelupe, Mexico City, Mexico (several versions have been on this spot since 1531), church

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), Rome, Italy (432), church

Ave Maria (Hail Mary), hymn; 15 composers have written their own versions of this prayer based on the passages from Luke 1:28–42: Bach and Gounod; Bizet; Brahms; Giulio Caccini; Cherubini; Donizetti; Franck; Gordigiani; Mozart; Rachmaninoff; Saint-Saens; Shubert; Tosti; Guiseppe Verdi

Virgin Annunciate by Fra Angelico (1430), painting

Virgin of the Annunciation by Botticelli (1490), painting

Virgin Mary by Titian (1522), painting

Madonna and Child by Giovanni Bellini, (1510) painting

Virgin of the Lilies by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, (1899) painting

Madonna with the Child by Donatello (1448), sculpture

Virgin and Child in a Church by Jan van Eyck (1437), painting

Madonna Litta by Leonardo da Vinci (1491), painting

Granduca Madonna by Raphael (1504), painting

Mater Dolorosa by Artus Quellin (1650), woodcarving

Assumption of the Virgin by Nicolas Poussin (1650), painting

Madonna and Child by Peter Paul Rubens (1625), painting

Pietà by Michelangelo (1499), sculpture

Figure 23-10: Madonna and Child with Saints Mary Magdalene and Anthony of Padua by Lo Spagna (c.1450– 1528). Located in Pinacoteca, Vatican Museums, Vatican State.

Scala/Art Resource, NY