Baroque painters were fascinated by the dangerous women of the Old and NewTestaments, the femmes fatales whose lethal beauty and erotic wiles lured mentowards destruction or even death. While Judith and Jael were cast as heroineswho seduced the enemy and committed bloody acts to liberate the Israelites fromtheir oppressors, treacherous temptresses Delilah and Salome used the samemeans to perfidious ends. Baroque artists explored these narratives with theircharacteristic flair for the dramatic and penchant for the macabre, foregroundingcomplex issues around female virtue, beauty, sexuality, rage, and power whoserelevance endures today.