The Baroque era arose from the Counter-Reformation of the Roman Catholic Church, during which the Church made considerable efforts to strengthen the relations between the secular world and the religious order. In an effort to engage ordinary people and create piety, the Catholic Church wanted art to appeal to human emotions. Gentileschi achieves this successfully in his painting, Judith Killing Holofernes. By infusing the apocryphal tale of Judith with dramatic techniques such as chiaroscuro and foreshortening, she created a deeply moving and realistic work of art that engages the viewer physically and emotionally, which is the quintessence of the Baroque style. In Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church needed to find a way to reaffirm the Catholic faith in people, and since many people at that time were illiterate, the Church needed a method of communication universal. Art, being a medium that only needs to be seen to be understood, was used to depict very direct, passionate and realistic scenes, mainly religious, that could be understood by anyone, regardless of their level of understanding. literacy or social status. To do this, Gentileschi does not paint idealized figures, like those in earlier Renaissance paintings, but simple, more complete subjects dressed in simple clothing that appeals to even the most ordinary people. Painted in chiaroscuro adds grandeur to the room and this, coupled with the foreshortening, creates a feeling of movement and energy which completes the illusion which makes the viewer feel like they are in the same room, witnessing the act. Baroque art in Italy typically depicts dramatic scenes...... middle of paper ......es of the servant and Judith who appear collected and focused with intense concentration and diligence on the task. By incorporating such dramatic expression on the characters' faces and bodies, the viewer can empathize and almost feel the sheer pain depicted on Holofernes' face as well as the intensity and urgency of the two's task. women. Gentileschi's Judith Killing Holofernes embodies the style of artwork in the Italian Baroque era. Using a Catholic subject and key elements and techniques essential to Baroque art such as chiaroscuro and foreshortening, she was able to create a piece that burst with drama and realism. Without the use of all these elements, the effect would be lost, but instead the piece moves the viewer with its direct, realistic realism of the religious subject, evoking emotion in a way that leaves the viewer impressed..