Judith II (Salome) by Klimt: Clawed Hands and a Hidden Head

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A figure squeezed into a tall, narrow canvas

Klimt painted this picture in 1909. It is extremely tall and narrow, 178 by 46 centimetres, and the figure barely fits. Her body is cut by the edges, and her head is pushed to the top.

The painting was shown at the Venice Biennale in 1910 and bought by the city of Venice. It now belongs to the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna at Ca’ Pesaro in Venice.

Judith or Salome?

A cold, distant profile.

Klimt called the painting Judith II. Klimt had painted Judith before, in 1901. But the picture is often called Salome, after the princess who asked for the head of John the Baptist. The two women both appear with a severed head, and the double title reflects that confusion.

Her face is in profile, with a sharp nose, red lips and half-closed eyes. Her black hair is a dark mass behind her. The expression is cold and distant.

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Hands like claws

Clawed hands with jewelled bracelets gripping hair — Hands like claws.

Lower down, her hands grip a mass of hair. The fingers are long and bent, almost like claws, and her wrists are loaded with bracelets of coloured stones.

The tension in the hands contrasts with the calm face. It is the most physical, most violent part of the painting.

The severed head at the edge

Man’s head with closed eyes half covered by dark cloth — The head is almost hidden at the edge.

At the lower right, almost cut off by the frame, is the man’s head, eyes closed, half covered by a dark cloth. It is easy to overlook at first glance.

Klimt does not show the moment of violence. He shows its result, half hidden, while the woman’s figure dominates the canvas.

Spirals and a dress of fragments

Gold spirals on a red-orange panel — Gold spirals behind the figure.

Behind her, at the left, a red-orange panel is covered with gold spirals. Her dress is broken into black, grey and coloured blocks, scattered with small motifs. A white ribbon winds through the composition.

This flat ornament is typical of Klimt’s golden period, but here the colours are darker and more aggressive than in the shimmering portraits of a few years earlier.

Questions about Judith II (Salome)

Is it Judith or Salome?

Klimt titled it Judith II. The name Salome is a later popular title.

Where is the original?

Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna, Ca’ Pesaro, Venice.

Why is it so narrow?

Klimt chose a tall, narrow format, 178 × 46 centimetres, that pushes the figure against the edges.

When was it painted?

In 1909.

Sources and image credit

Public-domain reproduction of Judith II (1909), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same historical painting; no reconstruction or upscaling.