Basically, this is something that would only upset racist, Obama-hating motherfuckers:

[MrScorpio]

Behold "Judith and Holofernes" by Kehinde Wiley, painted in 2012. You may recognize the style. Yep, it was painted by the same person who just painted President Obama's portrait:



"Judith and Holofernes" is the title of the painting, so there's no mistake as to what the subject matter is about. It's in the GAWD DAMNED BIBLE! You'd think that a gaggle of right wing nut jobs would figure out that the painting came out of a biblical scenario, right? Wrong. These people are just too stupid and racist to figure any of that that out.

The account of the beheading of Holofernes by Judith is given in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is able to enter the tent of Holofernes because of his desire for her. Holofernes was an Assyrian general who was about to destroy Judith's home, the city of Bethulia. Overcome with drink, he passes out and is decapitated by Judith; his head is taken away in a basket.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_beheading_Holofernes

But why are they upset that about Kehinde Wiley' beautiful depiction of a biblical passage? Because she's black? Because the same artist also painted Obama's portrait? Because they're fucking unsophisticated morons, triggered by melanin, who couldn't buy a clue about art history?

Yeah, sure, all of the above.

Were they ever so upset about this version of "Judith with the Head of Holofernes" by Lucas Cranach the Elder, painted in 1530?



Or maybe this version of "Judith with the Head of Holofernes," painted by Jan Massys in 1543...



Or how about this version of "Judith Beheading Holofernes," painted by one of my personal favorite Renaissance artists, Caravaggio in 1602:

.
A true master of light and dark, wasn't he?

We're not done, here another version of "Judith with the Head of Holophernes," painted by Cristofano Allori in 1613:



We're still not done yet. Scoring points for gore, here's another version of "Judith Beheading Holofernes" by Artemisia Gentileschi, painted in 1620:



Before we get into the more modern versions, here's "Judith with the Head of Holofernes" painted another Italian Renaissance artist, Massimo Stanzione in 1640:



This one was entitled just plain "Judith" by Franz Stuck in 1928:



In the spirit of disclosure, Kehinde Wiley painted another version of "Judith Beheading Holofernes" in 2012. Obviously one of his favorite subjects.



Lastly, painted in 2013 by Katy Wiedemann, "Judith Beheading Holofernes:"



Notice a common theme here? It's all the same scenario, but each one done in a way that's relative to the artists' own frames of reference. That's how art usually works. But don't tell that to the people who are so pissed off at Kehinde Wiley's paintings.

To those Obama hating racist motherfuckers, it's only a problem when black people are doing it. That was the entire response to his presidency by these same people. So, it's not like it wasn't expected, right?

So, whenever you come across any of these racist dip shits who are so "upset" that the artist who painted Obama's striking and beautiful portrait has also painted a picture of "a black woman who cut the head off of a white man." Simply reply, "You're damn straight!" And point out just how fucking racist and stupid they are and tell those morons to learn some fucking art history before they open up their putrid pie holes.

ART RULES, baby!

[mopinko]

1. hey zuckerburg- wanna clean up fb? try chasing down all the idiots pushing this bs,

and check them out. cuz the trolls be pushin this shit hard, and it's got zero to do w reality. just racism.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Thanks for this. I'm not exactly a scholar of the Apocrypha and appreciate knowing...

where this is coming from.

http://www.womeninthebible.net/women-bible-old-new-testaments/judith/
.

Sex, lies and murder

Judith means ‘the Jewess’Lioness, photograph by Anna Omelchenko

Holofernes means ‘stinking in hell’ – no prize for guessing who’s the villain

Nebuchadnezzar means ‘may the god Nebu protect you and your possessions’

Uzziah means ‘the Lord is my strength’

Achior means ‘brother of light’

Main themes in Judith’s story

The nature of God. In Chapter 8 Judith rebukes the town officials for trying to make God in their own image It’s a remarkable description of what God is and is not.
Making the best of what you’ve got. Judith was not a soldier, but she killed a fearsome warrior of the ancient world. She did this by using the gifts she had: beauty, intelligence, and ruthless cunning.
Ingenuity (and faith in God) are better than brute strength. Judith’s story is a variant on the David and Goliath story, where a seemingly weak person triumphs over a person of superior strength.
Judith and Holofernes, detail of hand with knife, Galizia, 1596

Judith and Holofernes, detail of hand with knife, Galizia, 1596

She is a symbol of the Jewish people, who relied on God’s help and their own abilities to overcome their enemies. They were surrounded throughout their history by huge and fearsome kingdoms, but God stood by them when they called on his help.

So, this is not a black woman beheading a white one-- it is the power of a strong and honest woman doing her duty and working for her people.

Like Michelle.

[ancianita]

15. You killed it. Thanks for your post. nt

[Sophia4]

43. The Apochrypha is not usually a part of the Protestant Bible.

Many of Trump's supporters probably don't recognize it as a legitimate part of the Bible.

Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin.[1] Biblical apocrypha is a set of texts included in the Latin Vulgate and Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible. While Catholic tradition considers the texts to be deuterocanonical, Protestants consider them apocryphal. Thus, Protestant bibles do not include the books within the Old Testament but have often included them in a separate section. Other non-canonical apocryphal texts are generally called pseudepigrapha, a term that means "false writings".[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocrypha

The story of Judith and Holofernes is in the Apocrypha.

[demmiblue]

3. It has made its way here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=10220868

K&R

[Paladin]

4. K&R.

[malaise]

5. Doesn't their dear leader have a fake painting that he claims

is the original?

Look MrScorpio, the most they know about art is paint by numbers. Ignore thee idiots.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. "also painted a picture of 'a black woman who cut the head off of a white man'."

It is considered "sacrilegious" to the power structure. The very bottom of the totem pole takes down the top.

No no no no.... can't have that.

[The Mouth]

8. Kicked and recommended,

Interesting and insightful.

[n2doc]

9. What drumpf's portrait should look like

[Ilsa]

16. That deserves a heart. Or 100. Thanks.

I wish the chair was more of a chair with a gold chamber pot.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

18. Yes.....Cheeseburgers in Non Paradise.....

Excellent. This captures the true Trump.

Substitute a Golden toilet for the throne, though.

[malchickiwick]

10. Excellent Post!! Thank you, and thanks for the incredible art and analysis!

Wiley's work is incredible, and I absolutely dig most of the other examples you posted. Hard to choose which one I like most. Hard to choose against Caravaggio, of course.

Anyway thanks for the post, and your message is 100 percent SPOT-ON!!

[PatentlyDemocratic]

11. No, those are white women he decapitated

In both paintings, he changed it to a black woman beheading a white woman. That goes beyond mere interpretation. Let’s not be intellectually dishonest; if a modern painter changed it to, let’s say, a white man beheading a black man for no apparent reason, I doubt it would be well received.

[IronLionZion]

12. Family values Christians always love murder, rape, and wrath

and stupidly believe beheading is for Muslims only.

They never mention their centuries of white on white murder throughout Christian history. The black woman holding a white head bothers racist idiots.

[NNadir]

13. Thank you. Our family has been following Wiley's...

...work for years after seeing a documentary about him.

My son is an art student, so contemporary art is definitely on our screen.

I was very pleased Obama chose him.

Thank you again for pointing out that all that is left of the Republican party other than selling the country to anyone who will pay is racism.

[unc70]

14. Judith and Holofernes by Wiley is in the NC Museum of Art

It is part of the permanent collection. I expect it will get a lot more attention now, though it already commands considerable attention given that it is ten feet tall.

Another interesting portrayal of Judith is by Klimt.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

17. Art Major here........

No more shocking than Salome with the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter.

[MrScorpio]

20. Time for another Caravaggio!

[unblock]

19. if only kathy griffin had thought of this angle!

[SQUEE]

32. I always assumed she had.

Especially since Wonkette had the Hillary shirts and cups for sale.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Great original post and research. Thanks! . . . . nt

[LuckyLib]

22. So interesting! Thank you! I try to learn something new every day.

Your post was that effort today.

[ismnotwasm]

23. K&R to infinity

[alwaysinasnit]

24. Thank you for sharing such beautiful content.

[Ligyron]

25. I wonder why he changed it to a white woman?

Someone might be forgiven for missing it's relation to the biblical story of Judith.

[brush]

26. Woohoo! A big K&R. One of the best posts ever. Thank you, Mr. Scorpio.

Caravaggio and his chiaroscuro is one of my favorites also—along with Bearden, Lawrence, Charles

White, Catlett, de Kooning, Lichtenstein and Magritte.

[debsy]

27. Excellent Lesson!

Thank you!

[eppur_se_muova]

28. Ummmm ... Assyrian men wore beards. Often elaborately oiled and styled.

Only Stuck seems to have gotten this detail quite right.



The other paintings show contemporary men being beheaded in anachronistic settings.

[nolabear]

29. Hallelujah. Not that wingers will care but Ive been yelling this all over.

Education is your friend. So is curiosity. Apparently neither is in high demand among the outrage mongers.

[SQUEE]

31. Interesting take.

But I chose not to ignore the artist, “It’s sort of a play on the ‘kill whitey’ thing,” Wiley says.

http://nymag.com/arts/art/rules/kehinde-wiley-2012-4/

It raises some very interesting questions, as art should.

It is a discussion I would find interesting to have with him.

[beaglelover]

33. The mouthbreathers over at DI are very interested in this post.

Just thought you'd like to know.

https://www.discussionist.com/10151623776

https://www.discussionist.com/10151623510

[Nevernose]

34. The Stupidity

The level of stupidity in those posts is frightening. How do they function being that goddamned stupid? How do they hold jobs or maintain families with that much fucking dumbness stuck in their craniums?

[MrScorpio]

35. Thanks for the chuckle.

But frankly, I couldn't give a rat's ass about the worthless opinions of the racist morons on that site

I left that asinine den of winger nut-jobbery a long time ago and never looked back.

Seeing how triggered they were from my post today, it's clear that they care about me more than I'd ever want to care about them. Looks like I struck a nerve.

Sweet!

And, who knows? It probably still hurts their little feelings... Ya know, that I stopped playing with them almost two years ago. But, so the fuck what? But I have better and more productive things to do than to waste my time ever posting there again.

However, if they feel the need to lurk, stalk and insult me from afar, I say, let them have at it in their little safe space. Since it's so blatantly obvious that whenever I post here, it has become more of a problem for them than it ever will be for me. If they want to respond, they should get up off their fat, lazy asses and post over here to tell me whatever they have to say to my face.

Otherwise, they should just let it all go.

[Politicub]

36. I would rec this a million times if I could

[BigmanPigman]

37. I LOVE Caravaggio!.

Now I'll have to get my book out and lose myself in it. Wonderful, and young, artist. He had a rough life.

[ChazInAz]

40. My favorite artist of the period.

I'm currently rereading Peter Robb's "M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio". It was my main research text when I played Cardinal Del Monte, his patron, in "Innocence". (Or was it "The Innocents"? For some reason, the title of the play never sticks in my actor's memory!)

[BigmanPigman]

41. When I attended Art School in Rome one of the strange

things about my Art History class was that each Fri. we would take walking field trips to various sites in the city. We would walk to these little, itty bitty, nondescript churches , and large ones too, and out of the darkness these magnificent paintings would appear. With Caravaggio it was even more of a surprise since his use of light added to the overall experience. One of the "problems" with Rome is that art is everywhere. A doorknob can easily be "art" in the eye of the beholder. You become very jaded too quickly.

[Geechie]

38. I'm gonna cut your throat, baby,

Look right down in your face,
And let some lonesome graveyard
Be your resting place.

-- Geechie Wiley "Skinny Legs Blues"

[lsewpershad]

39. But

OBAMA???

[Leighbythesea]

42. The style

Is wonderful. Im a textile designer who has spent a long while painting florals. Kehinde is my favorite contemporary artist! Obama + Kehinde =extra love.

[LiberalLovinLug]

44. And of course....

Which was also a work of art. A staged work of art that expressed at the time our inner rage at the daily destruction of the country and debasement of the highest office. It was a manifestation of our darkest desires to rid the country of this imposter and traitor, quick and bloody. A fantasy. A way to express ourselves and vent in a cartoon exaggerated way. Vent because there seemed nothing we could do, we were highjacked without any branches of government to feel protected by. There was an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Maybe it went too far because of the graphic nature for even some here. But IMO it was about showing that....look, Trump is just a man. Who can be brought down and injured, not in a physical sense, but in every other way. He could be gotten rid of. That's what I took from it.