Caravaggio's Judith Beheading Holofernes Travels to Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) has secured a loan of Caravaggio's "Judith Beheading Holofernes" (1599) from Palazzo Barberini in Rome, marking a major cultural exchange between the two institutions. The painting is the centerpiece of an exhibition at Mia featuring fourteen additional works spanning 500 years, exploring diverse interpretations of the biblical figure Judith by artists including Barthel Beham, Ludovico Carracci, Ignazio Collino, and Lovis Corinth. The loan is part of a reciprocal agreement: in exchange, Nicolas Poussin's "The Death of Germanicus" (1627) traveled to Rome for an exhibition at Palazzo Barberini celebrating the 400th anniversary of the election of Maffeo Barberini as Pope Urban VIII, whose pontificate was the longest of the 17th century. Mia director Katie Luber expressed satisfaction with the collaboration, noting it highlights exceptional artworks and the legacy of the Barberini family as patrons. Rachel McGarry, curator of the Mia exhibition, described Caravaggio's interpretation as shocking for its time, depicting Judith in the act of decapitating Holofernes in a "live murder" scene that broke from traditional roles of women as mothers, prostitutes, or angels. The loan required two years of negotiations. Mia, which holds over 90,000 works, has a strong institutional relationship with Italy; in 2022, it hosted "Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi" through a loan from the Uffizi.