The bronze sculpture Judith and Holofernes dated back to 1460 is developed by Donatello at around the end of his career and is been represented as the Hall of Lilies (Sala dei Gigli), in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. One replica of the original copy is situated there at the sculpture’s original positions on the Piazza della Signoria as in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. It therefore, depicts the killing of the Assyrian general Holofernes by Judith and is noticeable as primest Renaissance sculptures as to be thought around as with four different faces and objectives.
The statue was constructed by Cosimo de’ Medici as a figurative decoration for tt tui decoration for the fountain in the garden of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. It is standing there along with Donatello’s David, as showing up both tyrant slayers. Even these two statues are one of the earliest freestanding Italian Renaissance statues. Judith is known as to be the symbol of liberty, virtue and victory of the weak above the strong as in a common cause. There she stands powerful and strong with high yielding swords. The statue while at its construction was gilded and its shine while in sunlight use to let people to look at it. In order to carry out the gilding of the statue the bronze there was cast in about 11 parts. The base of the sculpture there remains as to be a cushions, a naturalistic device for the first time was employed by Donatello for his St. Mark in the Orsanmichele.
On the granite pedestal of the statue, there it reads as like, “Kingdoms fall through luxury, cities rise through virtues. Behold the neck of pride severed by the hand of humility.” According, to the these rules the particular and dramatic and detailed statue is thus named as to be metaphor of the Medici rule, and the defenders of Florentine liberty, as related to Judith, it is a slayer of the tyrant Holofernes and therefore is the defender of the people.
This particular view is further on supported by the second inscription on the pedestal that even read as, “The salvation of the state. Piero de’ Medici son of Cosimo dedicated this statue of a woman both to liberty and to fortitude, whereby the citizens with unvanquished and constant heart might return to the republic.” In the year, 1495, the sculpture was there placed on the Piazza della Signoria, there at the main door of the Palazzo Vecchio as in memory of the expulsion of Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici from Florence and the introduction of the Florentine republic under Girolamo Savonarola.
This time, this statue symbolized the expulsion of the tyrannical Medici. The statue was later moved to the courtyard inside the Palazzo Vecchio, and still later into the Loggia dei Lanzi. In 1919, it was then placed on the left side of the Palazzo Vecchio. It was replaced by a bronze copy in 1988 and the original, after restoration, was given a final place in the Sala dei Gigli inside the Palazzo Vecchio.
