This topic has 11 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 10 months ago by 
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Picture –
Quote – “A Benefit of friendship is knowing who to tell secrets to” – Alessandro Mazzoni
Painting Cropped From –
The painting Judith Beheading Holofernes at its presentation in Paris. It may have been painted by Caravaggio (1571-1610)
There is speculation on if the painting is real or not – also there’s a different version of the painting.
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Thanks Kort; I’ll add these to our imgur site.
This is an Old Testament story of Assyrian general Holofornes coming to destroy Judith’s hometown. She appeals to Holofernes’ desire for her and enters his tent, where he falls asleep after drinking too much. Judith (with the aid of her maidservant) cuts off his head.
This imagery is a common representation of the Power of Women topos; a theme in Rennaisance and Medevil art and literature depicting the inversion of male-dominated hierarchical control
I particularly love this painting of the scene, authentic or not, because it places Judith’s maidservant in a prominent position as co-conspirator, almost as if she’s whispering in her ear, egging her on. What do you tell someone you trust? What do they whisper back?
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I love this painting and the story behind it. They look like partners in crime and a good example of someone to tell secrets to! Someone that’s going to have your back no matter what crazy shit you get yourself into. That friend will be right beside you all the way. Those are your ride or die homies lol
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I knew this image looked familiar, we looked at this in my feminist art history class. The story of Judith and Holofernes was a popular subject matter of art in the renaissance and Baroque eras. (I know that info is useless but hey).
Something I’m wondering is if this particular painting’s questionable attribution and authenticity might also be worth considering as a clue. Given how little we truly know about our iConfidants (both who they really are and the authenticity of what they tell us), maybe there’s more meaning to the use of this specific work. I could be wrong, but I figure I’d throw out the idea anyway.
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So the story of Judith (hell, the whole Biblical book) doesn’t appear in every version of the Bible. It looks like it appears in some Catholic versions, no Jewish versions, and is pushed to supplementary materials for other denominations. Another example of things not being shown in one context or cut out of what we’re seeing (or being shown).
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@pandace88 there’s many versions of this one, many with the servant ready to catch the head in a sack to carry it away, and some with the servant actively participating in the beheading.
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@pandace88 @wanda102 Artemisia Gentileschi in particular did a rather graphic and intriguing of the slaying of Holofernes in which the Maidservant was quite active in the assassination (and was also portrayed as a young woman).
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@pandace88 Partner in crime who will take your secrets to their death…. or someone who has a lot of leverage against you when times get sticky for them? Panic and fear make people do things you would never expect. I hope this is not the case but one must always have a close eye on a partner in crime, just in case the table flips 😉
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@shankfx22 that’s true. There’s no worse enemy than someone who used to be your closest friend!
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@pandace88 Very true. It is awful to have a great friend turn on you, especially when you were trying to help them.
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@pandace88 OTIS!!!! Didn’t most of us allow him to see our personal facebooks? He is always referring to us as his friends, how great it is to be around such friends, etc.
SUS. AF. (I feel younger than the 30 year old me that normally doesn’t use such hip Internet lingo. And I now immediately feel old again XD)
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