Kaspar van den Hoecke, The Banquet of Holofernes, Antwerp, 1615-20, oil on canvas.

Erin Walls

ARH4353-0001 – Northern Baroque Art

5 April 2016
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Throughout the history of Baroque art, there was a hierarchy of subject matter. At the top

of this hierarchy were history paintings which consisted of Biblical, mythological, or historical

scenes and were most revered for such depictions. The subsequent subject after history paintings

were portrait paintings, genre paintings, landscape paintings, and still life paintings. When I went

to the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, there was a fantastic array of

Northern Baroque art, but one painting in particular stood out to me. This painting was Kaspar

van den Hoecke’s 1615-1620 oil on canvas painting entitled, The Banquet of Holofernes (Fig. 1).

The story of Judith and Holofernes is a biblical Old Testament story about Judith saving her

people by beheading Holofernes. This story was popular subject matter in Northern Baroque art,

but what sets this particular painting apart from the other paintings I have seen is how this is not

a painting of Judith in the act of beheading Holofernes, but rather it is a painting of her seducing

him. This panting is an extraordinary example of Northern Baroque history painting.

Kaspar van den Hoecke was a Flemish painter born in 1585 and died in 1648. Van den

Hoecke was the father of the better known Jan van Hoecke, and painted in Antwerp, Belgium.

He studied under Juliaen Teniers from 1595 and became a master in 1603 at the Flemish school.

It is important to note where van den Hoecke studied because it gives art historians insight into

his goals as a painter in the 17th century. Baroque painting in the north focused a lot on genre

scenes, or scenes of daily life, but history paintings were important to produce as well. When van

den Hoecke was in the Flemish school, part of his training was probably emulating the masters

that came before him, particularly those who painted in Italy. For those masters of Baroque

painting, most of what they focused on were history paintings. Van den Hoecke was most known

for his still life paintings of flowers and probably only painted The Banquet of Holofernes

because he was commissioned to do so.

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It was not stated by the museum who the patron of this painting was and there is no

information from other sources on this painting in particular, but by using knowledge of other

patrons of Northern Baroque history paintings, art historians are able to come up with some

probable patrons. The patron for this painting was, more than likely, a member of the upper class

because a history painting of this size and detail could only have been afforded by such members

of society. This painting would have not likely been commissioned by a Protestant patron

because of the Protestants’ belief in not having any physical representations of God or the Bible

present because they believed it was equivalent to worshipping a false god. It was also not likely

to have been commissioned by a church because there was a relatively small market for history

paintings in Belgium and Holland at the time, so whoever commissioned this painting was very

well off and probably Catholic.

The physical painting is relatively large and was painted with oils on canvas. The figures

are almost life size which makes the viewer feel as though they are a part of the story. Oil on

canvas was standard for the time and the techniques used were also standard. It is clear that van

den Hoecke was emulating the masters that came before him. In some aspects of the painting, the

artist’s hand is present, like in the fine details of the clothing. Another place where the artist’s

hand is present is in the hair. The artist would paint the hair on the figures and then take the other

end of the brush and draw in curls and this helped give the hair a more textured and realistic look

(Fig. 2). Van den Hoecke uses tenebrism in this painting which was common to include in

Baroque painting; this is when extreme areas of shadow and light are painted and the apparent

light source is typically a candle. In this painting, the light source is, in fact, a candle and van den

Hoecke is using this tool to highlight Judith, Holofernes, and their attendants (Fig. 3). This

painting is hung in a relatively small room and it is flanked on either side by paintings by Peter
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Paul Rubens. The placement of the painting next to two Rubens’ shows just how important and

influential this painting was.

The Banquet of Holofernes is highly dependent on the Old Testament book of Judith; this

story ended up being the inspiration for many Baroque paintings. In the Book of Judith, an

Assyrian King sends Holofernes and his troops to take control over the Israelites. Judith is a

beautiful widow who, along with a trusted servant, gains the trust of Holofernes by promising to

help him and his troops take over the Israelites. Holofernes grants Judith and her servant access

to his and his troops’ camp where they begin feasting so Judith can tell him how to take control.

As they are feasting, Judith and her servant makes sure Holofernes and his highest ranking troops

keep drinking until they are completely inebriated. This is when Judith beheads Holofernes and

some of his troops and after hearing that their leader had been killed, the rest of the troops fled.

This story is reminiscent of the femme fatale subject matter, when a beautiful woman seduces an

unsuspecting man which typically either causes betrayal or death for the man. Something rather

unique to this painting is that van den Hoecke decided not to paint Judith beheading Holofernes,

but rather to paint her seducing him into drinking more. Although van den Hoecke was not the

first painter to show this side of the story, the more desired depiction was Judith in the act of

beheading Holofernes, or right after she beheaded him. This may have been at the patron’s

request or it could have been a personal choice made by van den Hoecke. Unfortunately there are

no accessible records to give art historians a reason. The Banquet of Holofernes is not completely

devoid of beheadings, however, because there is a beheading in the upper left hand corner of the

canvas. Van den Hoecke included this to help complete the story of Judith and Holofernes

without sacrificing the beauty and simplicity of the feasting scene. If that is the case, then he

succeeded with this because it is hardly noticeable to the viewer.

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At first glance, The Banquet of Holofernes looks like an extravagant feast. Judith is

seated at the feet of Holofernes and she is holding his hand and looking up at him, starting to

coax him into going to bed so she can kill him (Fig. 4). Holofernes is seated in a chair wearing an

ornate turban to further emphasize that he is a foreigner. The look on his face is one of

drunkenness and confusion (Fig. 5). Behind Holofernes to his right is an older male, likely his

own servant, and behind Holofernes to his left is an older woman, likely Judith’s servant (Fig. 6).

Since Judith’s servant is depicted as an older woman, she could be read as a procuress and that

would give the idea that Judith is a prostitute. Whereas, Judith prostituting herself to save her

people did not come to fruition, she seduced Holofernes into thinking she would sleep with him.

Other figures include a male figure on the right side of the canvas, likely an Assyrian officer, and

the three figures in the upper left hand corner of the canvas (Fig. 3). These figures are curious

because the viewer sees two women in the act of beheading an unconscious man. The woman

who is holding the sword is dressed a lot like Judith is, so it is likely that this could have been

added as some kind of foreshadowing of what is to come (Fig. 7). The figures would have been

painted wearing contemporary clothing as opposed to the clothing of when the story was said to

take place. The majority of Judith’s dress is white which symbolizes purity, innocence, and

holiness; the majority of Holofernes’s outfit is red which symbolizes, in this case, power (Fig. 8).

The rest of Judith’s dress is a dark blue which symbolizes the Virgin Mary and servitude. These

colors were intentionally chosen to aid the viewer in deciding which figure stood for what.

To Holofernes’s left are two tables full of golden dishes and chalices and silver bowls full

of food (Fig. 9). The table in the very front of the picture plane is cutting off the rest of the young

officer’s body. This technique is called foreshortening and it was used to create depth in the

picture plane. Aside from the figures in the upper left corner, the background is virtually
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indistinguishable. This was a tool used by Baroque artists so as to not take away from what was

happening in the foreground, it was also used to give the viewer the ability to place the scene

anywhere and not just where the artist placed it.

On the belt of Judith’s dress, there appears to be an angel (Fig. 10). Angels are very

significant in art and can mean many different things. One of those meanings is that the angel

was a protector of the righteous. This is a very Christian belief and in this painting, this meaning

makes the most sense. Other possible interpretations are that this is representative of Judith’s

guardian angel as she places her life on the line for God and for her people. Many different

interpretations are applicable in this case, and none of those interpretations are wrong. The whole

reason for including an angel in this painting is to show Judith’s relationship to God and how

holy her intentions are. In addition to the inclusion of an angel, there is also the inclusion of a

peacock (Fig. 3). This is another Christian symbol and peacocks became a symbol of not only

immortality, but also of Christ’s resurrection. In ancient times, it was thought that the body of a

peacock never decayed and this is why it is such a prominent figure in Baroque art.

Although this is a story from the Old Testament where Christ had not been born yet, this

would not have mattered to the audience of the 17th century. What mattered to the audience of

the 17th century was symbolism and how the figures looked. Contemporary audiences sought to

be able to see themselves in these biblical and historical figures which is reason enough for

painting the figures in contemporary dress. The Banquet of Holofernes exhibits the cultural

developments of the day in this way and it exhibits religious developments of the day as well. In

the 17th century, two main religions were in the spotlight, Catholicism and Protestantism. They

differ so greatly due to the fact that Protestantism does not tolerate or use representations of
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Christ or the Bible. Whoever commissioned this painting was Catholic and did not intend on

converting to Protestantism.

One of the most well-known depictions of this story was painted by Caravaggio in 1599

(Fig. 11). Although Caravaggio was not a Northern Baroque artist, he had a profound effect on

the artists that came after him. Another famous depiction was painted by the Northern master

Peter Paul Rubens in 1616 (Fig. 12). Rubens rendered a lot of paintings of this story, each one as

striking as the last. And another quite well-known depiction of this story was painted by

Artemisia Gentileschi dating from 1614-18 (Fig. 13). Gentileschi was another Italian Baroque

artist who was very heavily influenced by Caravaggio; perhaps the influences of Caravaggio is

why this is one of the most famous depictions of this subject. All of these paintings feature Judith

either in the act of beheading Holofernes or right after she has beheaded him. In every depiction,

including van den Hoecke’s, however, the older woman is present. Each of these artists,

undoubtedly looking at Caravaggio kept that element that alludes to a procuress. In Rubens’s

painting, Judith’s breasts are exposed. This was not a choice made by the other artists as they

depicted Judith as a pure and saintly figure. Another popular and similar biblical story to paint

was that of Samson and Delilah. Judith and Delilah have often been compared and are both

considered to be femme fatales. Almost every artist that painted Judith and Holofernes also

painted Samson and Delilah.

The story of Judith and Holofernes was very popular subject matter for Northern Baroque

history painters and it is not difficult to see why. This biblical Old Testament story has a lot of

elements to choose from, and it went along with what subject matter was popular in Northern

Baroque painting, namely the femme fatale subject matter. Although the popular depiction of the

story of Judith and Holofernes was Judith in the act of beheading Holofernes, van den Hoecke
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decided to stay away from painting such a gruesome picture. Kaspar van den Hoecke trained

hard to become a master of Baroque painting and his work, The Banquet of Holofernes, is a

unique and extraordinary example of his hard work (Fig. 14).

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Bibliography

Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, 17, 187, 246. Philadelphia: Westview
Press, 1974.

“Hoecke, Kaspar or Caspar, or Jaspar van den.” Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online.
Oxford University Press.

Neuman, Robert. “Chapter 8: Flemish Baroque Painting in the Age of Rubens.” In Baroque and
Rococo Art and Architecture, 233-59. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2013.

“Teniers, Juliaen.” Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
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Photographs

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