Alexandre Alaux
(French/Louisiana, 1851-1932)

"Judith", 1905

oil on canvas
monogrammed and localized "NO (New Orleans)" lower left, signed, dated and localized en verso, after the ca. 1890 painting by Nathaniel Sichel (German, 1843-1907) which was widely exhibited and now in a private collection.

In a period gessoed and giltwood frame.
26" x 20", framed 37" x 31"

Provenance: Martha Ann and Ray Samuel Collection, New Orleans, Louisiana; sold in these galleries May 20, 2006, lot 85; Private collection, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Exhibited: A Keen Eye: Louisiana Art from the Martha Ann and Ray Samuel Collection, New Orleans Museum of Art, March 4-April 22, 2006.

Literature: Exhibition Catalogue, A Keen Eye: Louisiana Art from the Martha Ann and Ray Samuel Collection, New Orleans Museum of Art, March 4-April 22, 2006.

Notes: The embodiment of courage and determination, the Jewish Biblical heroine Judith has long been a popular subject for artists; she has been the inspiration for paintings by Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi and Gustav Klimt, an installation by Judy Chicago, and an opera by Alexander Serov. The scene depicted here is the moment Judith, dressed in all her finery and with her maid behind her as support, prepares to enter the chamber of the Assyrian general Holofernes to behead this great enemy of her people.

Surface dirt and toning of the varnish layer; area of inpainting upper right; patch en verso corresponds with inpainting lower/mid center. Frame with surface marks, nicks, losses along edges and separation in corners.