Gustav Klimt – Judith II (Salome)

Judith II (Salome) is Klimt’s painting of 1909: a tall, very narrow figure of a woman in profile, her fingers clenched like claws, and below them, at the bottom edge, the head of Holofernes. The original, oil on canvas, is in the Ca’ Pesaro modern art gallery in Venice. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in eight upright sizes or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.

Judith II (Salome) – Gustav Klimt

What is shown?

The canvas is almost four times as tall as it is wide, and Klimt squeezed a single figure into that narrow strip. A young, thin woman is turned in profile to the left. Her dark hair is piled high, her lips are red, her gaze lowered and absent. Her upper body is bare, and she clenches her hands so hard that the fingers look like claws. In them she holds cloth and hair, and beneath them, at the lower right edge, hangs a man’s head with closed eyes: Holofernes.

Below the waist her body dissolves into a dress made of pattern. Black, grey, purple and blue patches alternate with spirals and tiny dots, and pale ribbons wind between them. At the upper left burns an orange-red field with gold spirals, a thin gold strip runs down the left edge, and at the bottom is the signature GUSTAV KLIMT. There is far less gold here than in Klimt’s paintings of a few years earlier; colour and pattern now do the talking.

Salome or Judith – why does the painting have two names?

The painting shows the biblical Judith, who cut off the head of the Assyrian general Holofernes and so saved her town. But because the woman is so dark, tense and dangerous, she was long confused with Salome, who asked for the head of John the Baptist as her reward for dancing. The mix-up stuck so firmly that the painting still lives under both names, and in Italy it is often simply called Salomè.

The difference lies in the story, not the face. Salome receives the head on a platter; Judith takes it herself. On Klimt’s canvas the woman holds the head with her own hands, by the hair, which fits Judith. That is why the museum and most specialist texts call it Judith II today, while Salome survives as the nickname many people search for.

What does the painting mean?

Judith II is seen as one of the most tense of Klimt’s femmes fatales, the fatal women who marked Viennese art around 1900. In the Judith of 1901 the power lay in a calm, seductive gaze; here it lies in movement. The woman strides forward, her hands clenched, her body bony and sharp. Nothing is soft any more, and nothing is quite still.

The shape of the canvas matters too. The tall, narrow format pushes the figure forward, as if she were walking past us, and the head of Holofernes almost drops out of the painting. Once again Klimt turned a story of victory over an enemy into a scene of power between a woman and a man, but this time without splendour or luxury, with an unease the viewer feels at once.

Where is Judith II today, and how did it reach Venice?

Klimt painted it in 1909. A year later, at the ninth Venice Biennale in 1910, he had his own room with 22 works, a great honour for a foreign painter. Judith II was among them, and the Venetian modern art gallery Ca’ Pesaro bought it for its collection at that exhibition.

It has been in Venice ever since and has become one of the icons of the museum. Ca’ Pesaro is a baroque palace on the Grand Canal that houses the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna. Anyone visiting Venice can see it in person; most of Klimt’s other major works are in Vienna, and this is one of the few in Italy.

Judith I or Judith II – which should you choose?

Klimt painted Judith twice. The first, Judith I of 1901, is a half-length figure before a gold ground, the woman looking straight at us, and the original hangs in the Belvedere in Vienna. Judith II is eight years younger: tall and narrow, almost without gold, in profile and full of tension.

If you are choosing between them: pick Judith I if you want gold and a seductive gaze on a wider upright wall; pick Judith II if you have a tall, narrow wall between doors or windows and like dramatic, dark colour. From the same years we also paint The Kiss, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and Hope II.

How is our hand-painted version made?

The painter first draws the narrow figure on the canvas, the profile, the hands and the place of the head at the bottom edge, so the proportions hold over the whole height. Then come the face and the bare body, painted softly in several layers, and only after that the dark hair. The dress takes longest: every patch, spiral and dot is painted separately, in every shade from black to blue.

The gold accents, the spirals and the thin strip down the left edge, are not printed on our painting. We use gold paint, which the painter applies by hand with a brush, so they catch the light gently, as on the original.

Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same. A printed oil painting reproduction cannot show the relief of the brushstrokes and the shine of the gold paint that you can see and feel on the canvas.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 50 x 140 cm for a narrow wall between doors or windows, 66 x 181 cm or larger for a tall wall or a stairwell, and 30 x 80 or 40 x 110 cm for a slim strip beside a door. All sizes: 30 x 80, 40 x 110, 50 x 140, 60 x 165, 66 x 181, 80 x 220, 90 x 250 and 100 x 270 cm.

Worth knowing: the original is almost four times as tall as it is wide, while our sizes are a little under three times as tall as they are wide, so they are slightly wider than the original. The figure is the same on our painting, with a little more pattern at the sides. If you want the exact proportion of the original, you can have it made to measure, as described below. A painting this narrow needs a wall that is itself tall and narrow; as a painting for the living room it wants some empty space around it so the slim shape can speak.

Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor; with the largest sizes, keep the lower edge 20 to 40 cm above the floor or above low furniture.

Custom size, stretcher and frame

If you want Judith II in the proportion of the original, we paint it to measure, for example 40 x 155 cm, or in the original size of 46 x 178 cm. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote a price and a lead time. Every painting we make is stretched over a wooden stretcher and ready to hang.

For the moulding, use our 3D application: it shows every one of our frame profiles on this subject, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood before deciding – the application is for choosing the frame only. If you would like to see how the painting will look on your own wall, that is our separate room placement service. A slim gold or black frame suits the narrow, dark canvas well.

Delivery and guarantee

Every painting is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship it stretched and protected for transport, framed if you chose a frame, across the EU with no customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve; if anything is not right, we correct it while the canvas is still in our workshop. Our returns policy applies to every order.

Every other Klimt work we paint is in the Gustav Klimt gallery, and there is more about the painter in our ten facts about Klimt. If the painting is a gift and you are unsure of the size, there is a wall art voucher: the recipient chooses the size and the subject.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Judith II by Klimt?

Judith II is in Venice, in the Ca’ Pesaro modern art gallery on the Grand Canal. It has been there since 1910, when the museum bought it at the ninth Venice Biennale, where Klimt had his own room with 22 works. It is one of the few major Klimt paintings outside Vienna and one of the icons of the Venetian collection.

Does Judith II show Salome or Judith?

It shows Judith, who beheaded Holofernes, even though the painting is often called Salome. The woman holds the head herself, by the hair, which fits Judith’s story, while Salome received the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The confusion is old and the nickname stuck, so you will find the painting under both names, in Italian often as Salomè.

What does Judith II mean?

Judith II is Klimt’s most tense image of the femme fatale: a bony figure in profile, hands clenched like claws, the head of Holofernes at the edge of the canvas. The power no longer lies in a calm gaze, as in the Judith of 1901, but in movement and tension. There is little gold; dark colours and patterns dominate. More on Wikipedia (in Italian).

What year is Judith II from, and how big is it?

Judith II dates from 1909. The original measures 178 x 46 cm, almost four times as tall as it is wide, and is painted in oil on canvas. Klimt showed it to a wide public in 1910 at the Venice Biennale, where the Ca’ Pesaro gallery bought it. The signature GUSTAV KLIMT sits at the lower left, beside the thin gold strip.

What is the difference between Judith I and Judith II?

Judith I dates from 1901: a half-length figure before a gold ground, looking straight at us, held by the Belvedere in Vienna. Judith II dates from 1909: tall and narrow, in profile, almost without gold and far more tense, held by Ca’ Pesaro in Venice. You can order both from us; for a tall, narrow wall, choose Judith II.

Is there gold in Judith II, and is the gold on your painting real?

Judith II has little gold: spirals at the upper left and a thin strip along the left edge, while the rest is colour and pattern. On our version we paint these gold accents with gold paint, which the painter applies by hand with a brush, so they catch the light softly. So the whole canvas painting, gold included, is painted by hand.

In which sizes can I order Judith II?

There are eight upright sizes, from 30 x 80 to 100 x 270 cm, with 40 x 110, 50 x 140, 60 x 165, 66 x 181, 80 x 220 and 90 x 250 cm in between. Our sizes are slightly wider than the original, which is almost four times as tall as it is wide. If you want the exact original proportion, we paint Judith II to measure.

Where should I hang Judith II?

Judith II belongs on a tall, narrow wall: between two windows, between doors, beside a staircase or in a hallway with a high ceiling. Because it is dark and dramatic, it needs good light and some empty space around it. Next to a wide sofa it gets lost, so hang it where the upright shape can speak, or pair two narrow paintings side by side.

Is Judith II a good gift?

Judith II is a good gift for someone who loves Klimt, Venice or strong female figures in art, and because it is less famous than The Kiss it is a more personal choice. If you are unsure which size will suit the recipient’s wall, a voucher is the safer option: they choose the size and the subject, and the painting is made to their wish.

• Subject: the biblical Judith in profile, with clenched hands and the head of Holofernes at the bottom edge.
• Original: 1909, 178 x 46 cm, Ca’ Pesaro, Venice.
• Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, gold accents in gold paint, eight sizes or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.