A rich and beautiful Jewish widow, Judith entered the camp of the Assyrians who were besieging Bethulia and slew their general, Holofernes. Here she is shown standing full-length, her head raised and looking up. In her right hand she holds the hilt of a large sword and in her left is the dripping head of Holofernes. The remains of his torso are shown on the right; some of his armour is scattered on the floor at the left. The moon is visible in the sky, suggesting that the murder took place under cover of darkness. The story is from the apocryphal book of Judith.

This painting is a copy after an original work by Reni in the Sedlmayer collection, Geneva, dateable to 1625-6. The design was a popular one, and was much copied; at least thirteen copies have been traced, including this one.