There’s Not Enough Women Beheading Men in Art Anymore

Welcome back to Saturday Night Social.

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I like my art like I like my 2012 EDM concerts: I want to walk away from a painting or a sculpture feeling disoriented and a little buzzy—like my senses have all been attacked, but I’m also somehow inspired and uplifted. I’m a true believer that no trip is complete without a visit to at least one museum, and I’ve historically leaned to the modern and contemporary genres to get that “what the hell was that” feeling. While I appreciate the grandeur and detail of classical, baroque, and Renaissance art, how many paintings of people standing around in 15th or 16th-century garb do you really need to see in one lifetime?

But then I visited Italy for the first time—and my opinion of Renaissance art radically changed. Because what I found were scores (OK, about half a dozen) of artworks featuring women beheading men. And these pieces made me feel alive; made me feel inspired; made me feel the carbonated drops of dozens of Aperol spritzes twirl and leap through my veins.

That was over a year ago, and ever since, I’ve been asking, when did women stop beheading men…in art?!

Most of the pieces I saw were biblical depictions of Judith and Holofernes (the widow who seduces general Holofernes, chops his head off, and saves her city) or Salome with the head of John the Baptist. Some are very famous. Some I recognized from my sophomore-year Art History 101 class. But many felt like finding a four-leaf clover or one more pink Starburst.

Renaissance artists seemed to appreciate something the contemporary art world does not: sometimes a woman simply needs to hold up a freshly removed head. So I’ve ranked my top five below. If you know any other great works of art of women beheading men, please let me know in the comments. I believe this is a timely and beautiful reminder for us all that women beheading men is not only a revered female tradition, but also a literal work of goddamn art.

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5. Statue of Artemis

I believe the “head” in this sculpture at the Galleria Borghese in Rome is technically meant to symbolize a mask. But Artemis is the Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, and the wilderness—and since art is subjective, I choose to believe she hunted and beheaded this man. And I love that for her. 

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4. Pallas and the Centaur by Sandro Botticelli, 1492

As a Sagittarius (famously a centaur), I do feel bad that this half-man/half-horse is about to get his head chopped off. But I’m deeply moved by how completely unbothered Pallas looks, just casually holding him by the hair like she’s deciding whether to return something to Zara.

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3. Judith and Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi, 1613

Of course, only a woman artist could create the most famous and feminist painting of all time. Judith and her maid just calmly sawing through a man’s neck like they’re TikTokers slicing a sourdough loaf? Seeing this in person was transcendent. 

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2. Judith and Holofernes by Donatello, 1464

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1. Salome with the Head of John the Baptist by Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, 1615-1620

This is another very popular story for artists to interpret, but Caracciolo’s painting at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is supreme.

Not only do I love that the old woman seems more concerned about what Salome went through chopping off a man’s head than the literal severed head on the golden platter—but Salome’s expression? I’ve been living off the buzz from her impish side-eye for 18 months now. 

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