Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Caravaggio, London)

Not to be confused with Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Caravaggio, Madrid) or The Beheading of St John the Baptist (Caravaggio).

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London), c. 1607/1610, is a painting by the Italian master Caravaggio now in the collection of the National Gallery in London.

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London)
Italian: Salomè con testa del Battista
Artist	Caravaggio
Year	c. 1607
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	91.5 cm × 106.7 cm (36.0 in × 42.0 in)
Location	National Gallery, London

History

The painting was discovered in a private collection in 1959. The early Caravaggio biographer Giovanni Bellori, writing in 1673, mentions a Salome with the Head of John the Baptist sent by the artist to the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta in the hope of regaining favour after having been expelled from the Order in 1608. It seems likely, however, that Bellori was referring to a different painting by Caravaggio of the same subject (see Salome with the Head of John the Baptist at the Royal Palace of Madrid). The handling and the raking light link this painting to works done in Naples during the artist's brief stay in the city during 1606–1607, an impression confirmed by the balances between Salome and the Virgin in the Madonna of the Rosary, and between the executioner holding the head of the Baptist and one of the two torturers in Christ at the Column and The Flagellation of Christ.

From November to February 2012–2013, this painting was part of the exhibition "Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy" at the LACMA.

See also

• Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Caravaggio), Madrid
• Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
• List of paintings by Caravaggio

References

• Gash, John (2003). Caravaggio. Chaucer. ISBN 1-904449-22-0.

External links

• Media related to Salome with the Head of John the Baptist by Caravaggio (London) at Wikimedia Commons