Cristofano Allori (17 October 1577 – 1 April 1621) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Mannerist school, painting mostly portraits and religious subjects.

Allori was born at Florence and received his first lessons in painting from his father, Alessandro Allori, but becoming dissatisfied with the hard anatomical drawing and cold coloring of the latter, he entered the studio of Gregorio Pagani, who was one of the leaders of the late Florentine school, which sought to unite the rich coloring of the Venetians with the Florentine attention to drawing.

[citation needed] When still young he became a court portraitist for the Medicis, though many of his commissions were replicas of portraits by his predecessor Bronzino, or had participation by others.

[citation needed] His pictures are distinguished by their close adherence to nature and the delicacy and technical perfection of their execution.

(https://www.blindbild.com/berlin-gemaeldegalerie-august-2019/gemaeldegalerie_2019_allori-caravaggio/) According to the near-contemporary biography by Filippo Baldinucci, the model for the Judith was his former mistress, the beautiful "La Mazzafirra" (who is also represented in his Magdalene), the head of Holofernes is a self-portrait, and the maid is the mother of "La Mazzafirra.