A Short History of the Middle Ages Fourth Edition

Plate 8.2: Donatello, Judith and Holofernes (c.1420–1430). The dense symbolism of this sculpture allows it
to be used for many purposes. Taken literally, it illustrates the moment in the biblical Book of Judith (13:4–
10) when “Holofernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk,” while Judith, strengthened by
prayer, grabbed his sword and “took him by the hair of his head ... struck twice upon his neck, and cut off
his head.” The Medici took it to justify their extraordinary role in Florence’s political life. But in 1494, when
the Medici were expelled (temporarily, as it turned out) from the city, and the sculpture was transferred
from the private space of the Medici garden to the publically accessible Piazza della Signoria, it signified the
triumph of the citizens. How did Judith’s image change from that expressed in the Mirror of Virgins of the
twelfth century in Plate 5.10? What similarities nevertheless remained?

The Medici were not the only Florentines who commissioned the new-style art.

So did other wealthy merchants and aristocrats, rivalrous neighborhood churches,

and confraternities. The painting of Venus, Cupid, and Mars by Piero di Cosimo

(1462–1522) in Plate 8.3 was probably made as a wedding gift for a wealthy client. It

echoed not only a popular theme of ancient art (see Plate 1.1 on p. 12) but also key

elements of the classical style: figures with substance and volume, a recognizable

natural world in which the figures move (or, in this case, rest), and hints of a private

world into which the viewer is intruding.