Judith preparing herself to meet Holofernes

Van Blommendael entered the guild in Haarlem in 1662, although it is possible that he could earlier have been in Utrecht, as his style recalls the Caravaggist style that was a strong feature of that city's art at the time. As A. Hoyer noted in her 1992 thesis on his oeuvre, the influence of the Haarlem classicists is also perceptible. For another work by the artist with comparable figures, see that sold, Christie's, Amsterdam, 11 November 1996, lot 17.