Tucked away on the third floor of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a gruesome scene is playing out. A depiction of a woman beheading a man is the subject of famous Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's "Judith and Holofernes," circa 1599.

This is the first time the painting has come to the United States. It is on loan from the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini in Rome in exchange for Mia's "The Death of Germanicus" by Nicolas Poussin.

Caravaggio's masterpiece greets visitors to a broader exhibition of 14 works from Mia's permanent collection of various artist renderings of the biblical story of the young widow Judith saving the Jewish people by cutting off Assyrian general Holofernes' head. But it is only in Caravaggio's work in this exhibit that you see the murderous scene.

"Caravaggio is an incredible artist and 'Judith and Holofernes' is one of the most celebrated paintings of the 17th century, and even in the history of art," said Mia's curator of European paintings and works on paper, Rachel McGarry. "When you stand before the picture, you can understand why audiences are so enthralled by his work.

"It feels like this murder is happening right in front of your eyes, and he goes for the most dramatic moment in the story," McGarry said. "And while the story was very popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, you usually see Judith already victorious with the head of Holofernes, coming back to her town of Bethulia, or you see her right before when she raises the sword — it's very rare that you see the bloody decapitation."

Caravaggio painted this work in 1599, when he was only 28 years old. In his personal life he was known to be a violent man. He fought with other artists, the law and rivals. In 1606, he stabbed and killed a man in a street fight, and for the last four years of his life he was on the run. He died at age 38, shortly after landing in prison and losing everything he owned.

"Judith and Holofernes" originally was painted for Roman banker Ottavio Costa, one of Caravaggio's patrons. Costa kept it behind a curtain and would theatrically unveil it for visitors. When he died in 1639, he forbade his heirs from selling the painting. It reappeared in a private collection in Rome in 1951, and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica acquired it in 1971.

There's a certain theatricality and dramaticism to the painting. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese studied Caravaggio. The painting also has been recontextualized.

"Especially to the modern visitor, I love that Judith is this sort of proto-feminist figure here," McGarry said. "She's not bloodthirsty. She's doing this to save her people. The task at hand … she is a little tentative because it is really grisly, to cut off someone's head, but she's going to do it because she is brave and heroic and this is what she needs to do."

Caravaggio's depiction shows the experience from Judith's perspective.

"So many of the male artists in the period thought about it in terms of their experience, 'Like oh, this woman is a temptress,' or 'Oh, this woman is dangerous,'" she said. But in Caravaggio's depiction, "she looks like a superhero."

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Caravaggio's 'Judith and Holofernes'

When: Ends Aug. 20.

Where: Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2400 3rd Av. S., Mpls.

Cost: Free.

Info: new.artsmia.org or 612-870-3000.