The Stories of Judith: the Return of Judith to Bethulia; the Discovery of the body of Holofernes

After killing the Assyrian general Holofernes, leader of the oppressing army, Judith returns to the city with the commander's head to urge her people to resist. For 15th-century civil society, the young widow Judith, a biblical heroine, was a symbol of marital fidelity, having resisted Holofernes' advances. However, she also embodied the legitimate struggle against tyranny. Indeed, Donatello's 1455 bronze statue of Judith was placed in Florence's Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palace in 1494. The two paintings by Botticelli, dating back to the painter's youth, belonged to Bianca Cappello, Grand Duchess of Tuscany.