Background in Early Christianity
The Book of Judith was accepted by Jerome as canonical and accepted in the Vulgate, and thus images of Judith were as acceptable as those of other scriptural women. In early Christianity, however, images of Judith were far from sexual or violent: she was usually depicted as "a type of the praying Virgin or the church or as a figure who tramples Satan and harrows Hell," that is, in a way that betrayed no sexual ambivalence: "the figure of Judith herself remained unmoved and unreal, separated from real sexual images and thus protected."
Read more about this topic: Judith Beheading Holofernes
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