Artwork Page for Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

Details / Information for Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

1500s or later

follower of Bernardino Luini

(Italian, c. 1480-c. 1532)
Culture
Italy, Milan
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Framed: 72.1 x 87 x 5.7 cm (28 3/8 x 34 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.); Unframed: 46.6 x 59.7 cm (18 3/8 x 23 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Holden Collection 1916.824
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Salome’s dancing so pleased her stepfather Herod that he offered her anything she wanted. Her mother advised Salome to demand John the Baptist’s head, which Salome presented to her family on an elaborate dish. Despite its biblical source, this work was meant for a domestic setting, whose owner would have admired the elegant presentation of a shocking story.
A horizontal oil painting depicts Salome, a woman with light skin and reddish hair, wearing a pink and green patterned dress with gold floral accents. She gazes down at the severed head of Saint John the Baptist, held by a man over an ornate blue and gold pedestal platter. On the left, an older woman in a white hood looks on. The figures, all with light skin tones, emerge from a dark, shadowed background.

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

1500s or later

Bernardino Luini

(Italian, c. 1480-c. 1532)
Italy, Milan

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