The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist

c. 1650

Nicolaus Knupfer

(Dutch, 1603–1655)
Netherlands
pen and brown ink, brown washes and white heightening (oxidized), over black chalk on antique laid paper; framing lines in pen and brown ink
Support: 50.3 x 38.7 cm (19 13/16 x 15 1/4 in.); Matted: 53 x 39.5 x 0.6 cm (20 7/8 x 15 9/16 x 1/4 in.); Image: 33.5 x 27.8 cm (13 3/16 x 10 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2019.8
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The stoic Salome in this drawing awaits the head of John the Baptist so that she can deliver it to King Herod on a salver.

Description

The Utrecht artist Nicolaes Knupfer was known for depicting powerful women who outsmarted or overpowered men. This drawing, probably a study for a painting, depicts the New Testament story of Salome, who was granted a wish by King Herod after dancing for him. Encouraged by her mother, Herodias, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist, against whom Herodias bore a grudge for objecting to her marriage to the king. The scene shows the theatrical moment after the beheading, when a stoic Salome holds a salver to receive the head.
  • March 29, 2015
    Christie's, Paris, France
    Private Collection, Amsterdam, Netherlands
    March 4, 2019
    the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Saxton, Jo, and Nicolaus Knupfer. Nicolaus Knupfer, an Original Artist: Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings and Drawings. Doornspijk, Netherlands: Davaco, 2005.
  • {{cite web|title=Salome with the Head of John the Baptist|url=false|author=Nicolaus Knupfer|year=c. 1650|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.8