Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Allori's Judith holds the severed head of Holofernes at arm's length. The head is Allori's own self-portrait. Judith is his mistress, La Mazzafirra, who had recently left him. The old woman peering out from behind Judith's shoulder is La Mazzafirra's mother. Allori painted his revenge and his own execution in one picture. It became one of the most-copied Baroque paintings in Florence — copies exist by his own hand and by his students, made throughout the 17th century, all of the same scene: him losing his head to her. Now at Palazzo Pitti, Florence @uffizigalleries