Baronzio, Giovanni, c. 1320 - 1350
The Birth, Naming, and Circumcision of Saint John the Baptist, c. 1335
tempera on panel
46.4 × 38.3 cm (18 1/4 × 15 1/16 in.) overall: 48.8 × 40.7 cm (19 3/16 × 16 in.)
National Gallery of Art
Baronzio, Giovanni, c. 1320 - 1350, See Below
John the Baptist was a Jewish itinerant preacher and a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and a saint in many Christian traditions.
Baronzio, Giovanni, c. 1320 - 1350
The Feast of Herod and the Beheading of the Baptist, ca. 1330–35
Tempera on wood, gold ground, and silver
17 3/8 x 19 5/8 in. (44.1 x 49.8 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum
One of the most important surviving examples of fourteenth-century painting from Rimini (on Italy’s Adriatic coast), this panel was one of eight scenes depicting the life of Saint John the Baptist from a now-dismembered altarpiece. Riminese painters of the first half of the fourteenth century were indebted to Giotto, who worked in the city in the early years of the century. This dramatic scene unfolds in the palace of King Herod, who is so enchanted by the dancing of his stepdaughter, Salome (dressed in red and white in the foreground), that he grants her any wish. Prompted by her mother, Queen Herodias, Salome requests the head of Saint John the Baptist, which she presents to her on a platter. Queen Herodias sought revenge against Saint John for criticizing Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife. More
Baronzio, Giovanni, c. 1320 - 1350, See Below
John used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement. Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus. Scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. Some scholars maintain that John was influenced by the semi-ascetic Essenes, who expected an apocalypse and practiced rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although no direct evidence substantiates this.
Baronzio, Giovanni, c. 1320 - 1350
The Baptism of Christ. c. 1335
tempera on panel
46.3 × 49 cm (18 1/4 × 19 5/16 in.)
Possibly commissioned as part of the high altarpiece of a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in Emilia Romagna or in the Marche, Italy. More
Giovanni Baronzio, also known as Giovanni da Rimini, (died 1362), was an Italian painter. His year of birth is unknown. Baronzio is one of several fourteenth-century painters from Rimini, others being Giuliano, Pietro and Giovanni. The work of the Rimini school may have been influenced by Giotto (Listed below) during his visit to Rimini. Baronzio is known from a polyptych he executed for the Convent of the Friars Minor in Macerata Feltria. His devotional theme painting "Madonna Adoring Christ Child" resides in the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. More
According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself, and Jesus was the one whose coming John foretold. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified with the prophet Elijah.
John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who was otherwise too old to bear children. According to scriptures, the Angel Gabriel visited Elizabeth and Zachariah to tell them they would have a son and that they should name him John. Zachariah was skeptical and for this he was rendered mute until the time his son was born and named John, in fulfillment of God's will.
Jacques Daret (c. 1404 – c. 1470) was an Early Netherlandish painter born in Tournai (Belgium), where he would spend much of his life. Daret spent 15 years as a pupil in the studio of Robert Campin, alongside Rogier or Rogelet de le Pasture (assumed by scholars to be Rogier van der Weyden, and afterwards became a master in his own right. He became a favorite of the Burgundian court, and his patron for 20 years was the abbot of St. Vaast in Arras, Jean de Clercq.
Only four panels of Daret's works are known to have survived: all are from the so-called Arras Altarpiece or Saint-Vaast Altarpiece, painted for the abbot between 1433 and 1435. These paintings show a striking resemblance to the Flemish realism of the Master of Flémalle. This is argued by most scholars to be evidence that the Master of Flémalle was Daret's master, Robert Campin. More
When Elizabeth was pregnant with John, she was visited by Mary, and John leapt in her womb. This revealed to Elizabeth that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God.
The Tornabuoni Chapel. See Above
Giuliano Bugiardini (January 29, 1475 – February 17, 1555) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period known as Mannerism, born and mainly active in Florence. Also known as Giuliano di Piero di Simone, he may have initially apprenticed with a sculptor Bertoldo, but then apprenticed with the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. In 1503, he joined the painter's guild, the Compagnia di San Luca, and began an association with Mariotto Albertinelli that continued until 1509, when Albertinelli moved to the studio of Fra Bartolomeo. Bugiardini’s Virgin and Child can be seen in the National Museum in Warsaw. Vasari mentioned Bugiardini assisted Michelangelo very briefly in 1508 with the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He also painted in Bologna in 1526–1530. He painted a Rape of Diana. He painted a Martyrdom of St Catherine for Santa Maria Novella in Florence, based on Michelangelo's sketches. More
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 11 January 1494
Angel Appearing to Zacharias, c. 1486
fresco
Tornabuoni Chapel, Firenze, Italy
Ghirlandaio portrayed a considerable number of contemporary political figures and members of the donor families. Those portrayed are not taking part in the biblical events; rather, it seems important to them to be seen in this context. The artist arranges them in groups of three, four and five figures on various ground levels, so that they do not overlap too much. As a result, the front groups are standing at the edges of the picture in rather absurd holes. It is likely that the artist had to accede to the wishes of his client and incorporate all these figures, relatives and friends, into the scene. In the process he once again showed himself to be a superb portrait painter with the talent to create character studies with a psychological profundity. More
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 11 January 1494) See Below
John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who was otherwise too old to bear children. According to scriptures, the Angel Gabriel visited Elizabeth and Zachariah to tell them they would have a son and that they should name him John. Zachariah was skeptical and for this he was rendered mute until the time his son was born and named John, in fulfillment of God's will.
Cappella Tornabuoni
Visitation
Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy
The Tornabuoni Chapel (Italian: Cappella Tornabuoni) is the main chapel (or chancel) in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy. It is famous for the extensive and well-preserved fresco cycle on its walls, one of the most complete in the city, which was created by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his workshop between 1485 and 1490. The main chapel of Santa Maria Novella was first frescoed in the mid-14th century by Andrea Orcagna. Remains of these paintings were found during restorations in the 1940s: these included, mostly in the vault, figures from the Old Testament. Some of these were detached and can be seen today in the Museum of the church. More
Jacques Daret, c. 1404 – c. 1470
Visitation, from Altarpiece of the Virgin (St Vaast Altarpiece)
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Only four panels of Daret's works are known to have survived: all are from the so-called Arras Altarpiece or Saint-Vaast Altarpiece, painted for the abbot between 1433 and 1435. These paintings show a striking resemblance to the Flemish realism of the Master of Flémalle. This is argued by most scholars to be evidence that the Master of Flémalle was Daret's master, Robert Campin. More
The Embrace of Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary.
St. George Church, Kurbinovo, Macedonia
When Elizabeth was pregnant with John, she was visited by Mary, and John leapt in her womb. This revealed to Elizabeth that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God.
St John The Baptist prostrating before his Lord while yet in the womb
Cappella tornabuoni
Birth of St John the Baptist (c 1486-90)
Giuliano Bugiardini, 1475 – 1555
The Birth of St John the Baptist, c. 16th century
113 × 118 cm (44.5 × 46.5 in)
Galleria Estense, Modena, Italy
Giuliano Bugiardini (January 29, 1475 – February 17, 1555) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period known as Mannerism, born and mainly active in Florence. Also known as Giuliano di Piero di Simone, he may have initially apprenticed with a sculptor Bertoldo, but then apprenticed with the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. In 1503, he joined the painter's guild, the Compagnia di San Luca, and began an association with Mariotto Albertinelli that continued until 1509, when Albertinelli moved to the studio of Fra Bartolomeo. Bugiardini’s Virgin and Child can be seen in the National Museum in Warsaw. Vasari mentioned Bugiardini assisted Michelangelo very briefly in 1508 with the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He also painted in Bologna in 1526–1530. He painted a Rape of Diana. He painted a Martyrdom of St Catherine for Santa Maria Novella in Florence, based on Michelangelo's sketches. More
Nativity of John Baptist, 15 c,
Hermitage
Russian icon of the Nativity of John the Baptist
The Eastern Orthodox faithful believe that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge between that period of revelation and the New Covenant. They also teach that, following his death, John descended into Hades and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming, so he was the Forerunner of Christ in death as he had been in life
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 11 January 1494)
Zacharias Writes Down the Name of his Son, c. 1486-90
Fresco,
width 450 cm
Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy
Ghirlandaio has made this composition animated by the unusual device of placing the most important group of people, who are standing around Zacharias, off centre. This means that the baby John is in the centre directly under the middle pilaster. The open loggia architecture with a view onto a landscape in the background is not connected with the events in the picture. It is possible that it was added, as a backdrop, late in the production of the work.
Ghirlandaio places the seated priest Zacharias in front of a magnificent loggia which opens out onto an extensive landscape. Vasari writes how Zacharias, "whose spirit is undaunted although he is still mute, expresses amazement that a son has been born to him, and while they ask him what name to give his son, he writes on his knees - all the while staring at his son, who is held by a woman kneeling reverently before him - forming with a pen on paper the words 'His name will be John', to the astonishment of many of the other figures, who seem to be wondering whether this could be true or not." More
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 11 January 1494) See Below
Leonardo da Vinci, 1513–1516 (?)
St. John the Baptist
Oil on walnut wood
69 cm × 57 cm (27.1653543 in × 22.4409449 in)
Louvre, Paris
St. John the Baptist is a High Renaissance oil painting on walnut wood by Leonardo da Vinci. Probably completed from 1513 to 1516, it is believed to be his final painting and is now exhibited at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France. More
Leonardo da Vinci, (Italian: “Leonardo from Vinci”) (born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died May 2, 1519, Cloux [now Clos-Lucé], France), Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. His Last Supper (1495–98) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503–06) are among the most widely popular and influential paintings of the Renaissance. His notebooks reveal a spirit of scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness that were centuries ahead of their time. More
As a gift from God, Zechariah (or Zakariya) was given a son by the name of "Yaḥya", a name specially chosen for this child alone. In accordance with Zechariah's prayer, God made John and Jesus, who according to exegesis was born six months later,[100] renew the message of God, which had been corrupted and lost by the Israelites. Islam
John the Baptist - Desert Angel, c. 1620-s
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
John was exhorted to hold fast to the Scripture and was given wisdom by God while still a child.[102] He was pure and devout, and walked well in the presence of God. He was dutiful towards his parents and he was not arrogant or rebellious. John's reading and understanding of the scriptures, when only a child, surpassed even that of the greatest scholars of the time. Muslim exegesis narrates that Jesus sent John out with twelve disciples,[103] who preached the message before Jesus called his own disciples. Islam
John began public ministry around 30 AD, and was known for attracting large crowds across the province of Judaea and around the Jordan River.
John the Baptist in the desert, c. 17th century
oil on canvas
Height: 177 cm (69.7 in). Width: 159 cm (62.6 in).
Pitti Palace, Firenze, Italy
Cristofano Allori (17 October 1577 – 1 April 1621) was an Italian portrait painter of the late Florentine Mannerist school. 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.
His pictures are distinguished by their close adherence to nature and the delicacy and technical perfection of their execution. His technical skill is shown by the fact that several copies he made of Correggio's works were thought to be duplicates by Correggio himself. His extreme fastidiousness limited the number of his works. Several examples are to be seen at Florence and elsewhere. More
St. John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness, c. 1760s?
Oil on canvas
Height: 214.6 mm (8.45 in). Width: 148 mm (5.83 in).
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, United States
Anton Raphael Mengs, Raphael (born March 22, 1728, Labem, Czech Republic—died June 29, 1779, Rome, Papal States, Italy), was a leading artist of early Neoclassicism.
Mengs studied under his father in Dresden, Saxony, and then in Rome. He became painter to the Saxon court in Dresden in 1745 and executed a large number of portraits, most in brightly coloured pastels. Mengs returned to Rome in the early 1750s, and about 1755 he became a close friend of the German archaeologist and art critic J.J. Winckelmann. He came to share Winckelmann’s enthusiasm for classical antiquity, and, upon its completion in 1761, his fresco Parnassus at the Villa Albani in Rome created a sensation and helped establish the ascendancy of Neoclassical painting. Mengs also continued to paint portraits during this period, competing with Pompeo Batoni, the leading Rococo portraitist of the Roman school. In 1761 he went to the Spanish court at Madrid, where he worked on the decoration of royal palaces. From 1769 to 1772 Mengs was in Rome, decorating the Camera dei Papiri in the Vatican, and he returned to Spain from 1773 to 1777.
Mengs was widely regarded in his day as Europe’s greatest living painter. He eschewed the dramatic illusionism and dynamism of the Baroque style in his figural compositions, preferring instead to blend quotations from ancient sculptures with stylistic elements of Raphael, Correggio, and Titian. Mengs’s reputation has declined precipitously since the 18th century. Some of his portraits display a freedom and sureness of touch. Mengs’s treatise Reflections on Beauty and Taste in Painting (1762) was also influential in his day. More
Saint John the Baptist, circa 1560
Oil on Canvas
Joan J. Gavara Collection (Valencia)
Vicente Juan Masip (also Vicente Macip;Catalan: 'Vicent Joan Masip'; 1475– 1545) (also known as Joan de Joanes (La Font de la Figuera 1507 - Bocairent 1579) was a Spanish painter of the Renaissance period. He was one of the main members, and was considered the premier painter of the Valencian school of painters.
Born in La Font de la Figuera, he is said to have studied his art for some time in Italy due to Sebastiano del Piombo's influence, with which school his affinities are closest, but maybe he never went to Italy, and he received this influence by the Italian peintures arriving to Valencia. Furthermore, two Italian painters Paolo da San Leocadio and Francesco Pagano, were engaged by cardinal Rodrigo Borgia for painting in Valencia Cathedral. Otherwise, the greater part of his professional life was spent in the city of Valencia, where most of the extant examples of his work are now found. All relate to religious subjects, and are characterized by dignity of conception, accuracy of drawing, beauty of color, and minuteness of finish. He died at Bocairent (near Xàtiva) while working on an altarpiece in the church there. More
John was a classical prophet, who was exalted high by God, for his bold denouncing of all things sinful. Furthermore, the Qur'an speaks of John's gentle pity and love and his humble attitude towards life, for which he was granted the Purity of Life
The Sermon of St John the Baptist, c. 1566
oil on panel
Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest)
Pieter Bruegel (also Breughel) the Elder (c. 1525 – 9 September 1569) was a Netherlandish Renaissance painter and printmaker from Brabant, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes (so called genre painting). He is sometimes referred to as the "Peasant Bruegel". From 1559, he dropped the "h" from his name and signed his paintings as Bruegel.
Bruegel specialized in genre paintings populated by peasants but he also painted religious works. Making the life and manners of peasants the main focus of a work was rare in painting in Bruegel's time, and he was a pioneer of the genre painting. His earthy, unsentimental but vivid depiction of the rituals of village life are unique windows on a vanished folk culture, though still characteristic of Belgian life and culture today, and a prime source of iconographic evidence about both physical and social aspects of 16th-century life.
John is also honored highly in Sufism as well as Islamic mysticism, primarily because of the Qur'an's description of John's chastity and kindness. Sufis have frequently applied commentaries on the passages on John in the Qur'an, primarily concerning the God-given gift of "Wisdom" which he acquired in youth as well as his parallels with Jesus. Although several phrases used to describe John and Jesus are virtually identical in the Qur'an, the manner in which they are expressed is different.
Preaching of St John the Baptist, between 1486 and 1490
fresco
Tornabuoni Chapel, Firenze, Italy
While St John in a fur robe is making didactic gestures and preaching about the coming of the Messiah to an intent group of listeners, Christ is already approaching. Unnoticed by the Baptist, who is pointing to his cross staff, Christ is stepping out of the background into the scene between the rocks. More
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 11 January 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-called "third generation" of the Florentine Renaissance, along with Verrocchio, the Pollaiolo brothers and Sandro Botticelli. Ghirlandaio was the leader of a large and efficient workshop which included his brothers Davide Ghirlandaio and Benedetto Ghirlandaio, his brother-in-law Sebastiano Mainardi from San Gimignano and later his son Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Among the many apprentices that passed through his workshop, the most famous was Michelangelo. Ghirlandaio's particular talent was his ability to depict contemporary life and portraits of contemporary people within the context of religious narratives. This brought him great popularity and many large commissions. More
When Jesus came to him to be baptized, John recognized him and said, "It is I who need baptism from you."
Baptism of Christ
oil on canvas
100 x 135 cm. (39.4 x 53.1 in.)
Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) See Below
Jesus told John to baptize Him anyway, which he did, whereupon the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God was seen like a dove. The voice of God spoke, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452–1519)
The Baptism of Christ, circa 1475
oil on panel
177 × 151 cm (69.7 × 59.4 in)
Uffizi Gallery
Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435 – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and goldsmith who was master of an important workshop in Florence. He became known by his nickname "Verrocchio" which in Italian means "true eye" a tribute given to him for his artistic achievement. Few paintings are attributed to him with certainty, but a number of important painters were trained at his workshop. His pupils included Leonardo da Vinci, Pietro Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi. His greatest importance was as a sculptor and his last work, the Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice, is generally accepted as a masterpiece. More
Joachim Patenir (also Patenier), c. 1480 – 5 October 1524
Baptism of Christ, c. 1510-1520
Oil on oak,
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
This work, one of Joachim Patenir's best-known compositions, tells the narrative story of the baptism of Christ set in a dramatic and otherworldly landscape. The compositional structure begins with God the Father, bathed in light, peeking through the dark clouds and gesturing down toward the dove of the Holy Spirit. Directly in line below the dove is John the Baptist’s gentle hand and the baptism of Christ. In a simultaneous scene just left of center, again we see John the Baptist sermonizing to his followers with Christ repeated in the background wearing a blue robe and watching from afar.
Joachim Patinir, also called Patenier (c. 1480 – 5 October 1524), was a Flemish Northern Renaissance history and landscape painter from the area of modern Wallonia.[1] He was probably the uncle of Herri met de Bles, his follower in establishing the world landscape, a distinct style of panoramic northern Renaissance landscapes. More
Guido Reni, (1575–1642)
The Baptism of Christ, between circa 1622 and circa 1623
oil on canvas
Height: 263.5 cm (103.7 in). Width: 186.5 cm (73.4 in).
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria
Here we see Reni’s mature style, emphasizing mastery of composition and perspective. In the foreground, Christ bows his head as John the Baptist pours from the baptismal cup. John seemingly rises over the scene from the banks of the River Jordan. The two form an arch that frames two angels holding Christ’s crimson robes. In the background, the blue sky and clouds provide a backdrop for the dove of the Holy Spirit as it oversees the events. More
Guido Reni (1575−1642), See Below
Following his baptism of Christ, John's popularity grew so much that he alarmed King Herod. Herod ordered him arrested and imprisoned.
Herod Antipater (born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD), was named to the throne by Augustus upon the death of his father, Herod the Great, in 4 BC. Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea as a client state of the Roman Empire. He was responsible for building projects at Sepphoris and Betharamphtha, and more important for the construction of his capital Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Named in honor of his patron, the emperor Tiberius.
Saint John the Baptist convicts Herod
Oil on canvas
Galleria dell 'Accademia, Florence, Italy
Giovanni Fattori (September 6, 1825 – August 30, 1908) was an Italian artist, one of the leaders of the group known as the Macchiaioli. He was initially a painter of historical themes and military subjects. In his middle years, inspired by the Barbizon school, he became one of the leading Italian plein-airists, painting landscapes, rural scenes, and scenes of military life. After 1884, he devoted much energy to etching. More
John spoke with Herod on several occasions and condemned his marriage to his half-brother's wife, Herodias.
Feast of Herod, c. 1656 - 1661
oil on canvas
Height: 1,778 mm (70 in). Width: 2,521 mm (99.25 in).
Toledo Museum, United States
Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was also a member of the Order of Saint John. Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called Il Cavalier Calabrese (the Calabrian Knight) after he was accepted into the Order of St. John (Knights of Malta) in 1660. His early apprenticeship is said to have been with the "Caravaggist" Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, which may account for his lifelong interest in the style of Caravaggio.
Preti joined his brother Gregorio (also a painter), in Rome, where he became familiar with the techniques of Caravaggio and his school as well as with the work of Guercino, Rubens, Guido Reni, and Giovanni Lanfranco. He remained based in Rome until 1653, returning later in 1660-61.
During most of 1653-1660, he worked in Naples, where he was influenced by another major painter of his era, Luca Giordano. One of Preti's masterpieces were a series of large frescoes, ex-votos of the plague (which were painted on seven city gates but have since been lost to the ravages of time), depicting the Virgin or saints delivering people from the plague.
Having been made a Knight of Grace in the Order of St John, he visited the order’s headquarters in Malta in 1659 and spent most of the remainder of his life there. Preti transformed the interior of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, with a huge series of paintings on the life and martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (1661–1666). In Malta one also can find many paintings of Preti in private collections and in parish churches. His increased reputation led to an expanded circle of patrons, and he received commissions from all over Europe. More
Herodias, daughter of Aristobulus -- son of Herod the Great and Mariamne -- was a descendant of the famous Hasmonean heroes, the Machabees, who had done so much for the Jewish nation. Having married Herod Philip, her own uncle, by whom she had a daughter, Salome, Herodias longed for social distinction, and accordingly left her husband and entered into the adulterous union with Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee, who was also her uncle.
The Feast of Herod and the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, c. 1461-1462
tempera on poplar panel
23.8 x 34.5 cm (9 3/8 x 13 9/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art
Gozzoli uses his storytelling prowess here to depict the story of Salome. Gazzoli uses intense color and vigorous action to create drama and interest in this composition. Central to the narrative story is Salome, depicted in a billowing dress, twirling her arms and legs in dance. She holds Herod’s rapt attention as he watches from behind the dinner table, placing his arm over his heart. According to the biblical story, Herod was so taken by her performance that he promised Salome anything she wanted. Influenced by her mother, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist. John appears kneeling in the lower left as the executioner raises his sword at Herod’s order. In the background, Salome kneels at her mother’s lap, presenting her with the severed head. More
Benozzo Gozzoli, also called Benozzo di Lese (born c. 1421, Florence [Italy]—died Oct. 4, 1497, Pistoia), early Italian Renaissance painter whose masterpiece, a fresco cycle in the chapel of the Medici-Riccardi Palace, Florence, reveals a new interest in nature (a careful study of realistic detail in landscape and the costumed figure) and in the representation of human features as definite portraiture.
Gozzoli’s formative collaborations included those with Lorenzo and Vittorio Ghiberti on the third bronze door of the Baptistery, Florence, and with Fra Angelico (1447) on some frescoes in the chapel of Pope Nicholas V, Vatican, and on the ceiling of the Chapel of San Brizio in the cathedral at Orvieto. At Viterbo (after 1453) he painted nine frescoes of scenes from St. Rose’s life. After painting an altarpiece at Perugia for Collegio Gerolominiano (1456) and visiting Rome in 1458, he returned to Florence, where he painted the frescoed chapel of the Medici-Riccardi Palace (dating from 1459 to 1460). Gozzoli’s work as a whole has a rather empty facility, but in the latter commission, his “Procession of the Magi” reveals an artist of great decorative talent, with a pronounced gift for landscape and portraiture. By 1463 he was working at San Gimignano on a cycle of 17 scenes from the life of St. Augustine in the choir of Sant’Agostino (last scene signed and dated 1465) and on a fresco of St. Sebastian (1464). Between 1469 and 1485 he painted his most extensive commission, a series of 25 frescoes of Old Testament scenes for the Campo Santo (cemetery), Pisa. More
Herod's Banquet, c. 1486-90
Fresco, width 450 cm
Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
The cycle of the life of St John concludes in the large tympanum with Herod's Banquet, about which Vasari wrote that: "The last scene, the one in the arch next to the vaulting, presents the sumptuous Banquet of Herod and the Dance of Herodias, along with countless servants performing various chores in the scene ; the picture also contains a large building drawn in perspective which, together with the painted figures, clearly reveals Domenico's skill."
A colossal palace architecture, carefully constructed according to the laws of perspective, rises up in the form of a series of enormous barrel and dome vaults, which in the foreground are supported by columns. Ghirlandaio was familiar with these columns with entablature blocks from Brunelleschi's Florentine churches of Santo Spirito and San Lorenzo, while the complex overall design of the building is reminiscent of the Maxentius Basilica in Rome. That classical building had been built by the Roman emperors Maxentius and Constantine as a monumental hall building with three aisles; the long central aisle was roofed by three huge groin vaults and the side aisles by coffered vaults.
Ghirlandaio uses his powers to the full, both in the extravagant architecture and the vivid, though still somewhat stiff, figure of the dancing Salome. Ghirlandaio adopted and varied this dancing figure, together with the entire composition of the scene, from Filippo Lippi's depiction of the same scene in Prato Cathedral, painted between 1452 and 1466. That earlier painting already contains the musicians on the left, the row of pots on the right and the view out onto a landscape in the center. The arrangement of the figures was altered, but scarcely improved, by Ghirlandaio. Above all, and in the face of the festive and yet gruesome events, the figures lack all sense of drama. They display neither a lively party mood nor signs of horror or repulsion. The arrangement of the banqueters around the three long laid tables is reminiscent of Ghirlandaio's earlier depictions of the Last Supper. Here too, in addition to wine glasses and bowls, red cherries are arranged on the white table cloth. More
Domenico Ghirlandaio, (1449 – 11 January 1494), See Above
Herodias, c. 1843
Medium oil on canvas
129 x 98 cm
Current location
Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Köln, Germany
Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856), born Hippolyte, was a French painter. He was trained by Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros, a painter of life-size historical subjects who had many students. The first Delaroche picture exhibited was the large Jehosheba saving Joash (1822). This exhibition led to his acquaintance with Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix, with whom he formed the core of a large group of Parisian historical painters. He visited Italy in 1838 and 1843, when his father-in-law, Horace Vernet, was director of the French Academy in Rome. In 1845, he was elected into the National Academy of Design, New York, as an Honorary Academician.
He was born, worked, and died in Paris. His studio was in the rue Mazarin. His subjects were painted with a firm, solid, smooth surface, which gave an appearance of the highest finish. This texture was the manner of the day and was also found in the works of Vernet, Ary Scheffer, Louis Léopold Robert and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Among his students were British landscape artist Henry Mark Anthony, British history painters Edward Armitage and Charles Lucy, and American painter/photographer Alfred Boisseau (1823–1901). More
This condemnation would be his downfall as King Herod promised to grant a wish to his daughter. In revenge for John the Baptist's condemnation of her mother's scandalous marriage to Herod, she asked for John's head. King Herod reluctantly obliged. John the Baptist died sometime between 33 and 36 AD.
Jean Sala, (Spanish, born 1895)
Salome
Oil on Canvas
99.3 x 71.2 cm. (39.1 x 28 in.)
Besides provoking his conflict with the Baptizer, the tetrarch's divorce added a personal grievance to previous disputes with King Aretas IV of Nabatea, father of King Herod's first wife, (Petra, Jordan was the capital of the Nabataean Empire of King Aretas IV), over territory on the border of Perea and Nabatea. The result was a war that proved disastrous for Antipas; a Roman counter-offensive was ordered by Tiberius, but abandoned upon that emperor's death in 37 AD. In 39 AD.
Polydore Beaufaux, (1829 - 1905)
Salome, c. 1873
118 x 78 cm
Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
Polydore Beaufaux (30 November 1829, Court-Saint-Étienne - 7 May 1905, Wavre) was a Belgian painter. He favored Biblical scenes, portraits and genre pieces. From 1844 to 1850, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp). In 1857, he won the Prix de Rome (Belgium) for painting. He used his prize money to make a study trip from 1859 to 1863, visiting France and Italy, where he did a portrait of Pope Pius IX.
The following year, he became a Professor at the Academy, where he taught a course entitled "Painting from Life". Léon Abry, Gerard Portielje and Edouard de Jans are among his best-known students. He exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon.
In 1889, he made a trip to England, then left Antwerp to settle in Wavre. A year later, he became paralyzed in his hands and could no longer paint. More
When Agrippa, the brother of Herodias became king, she persuaded Antipas to go to Rome in search of the royal title, as his claim to it was far greater than that of her brother. Instead of a crown, however, he found awaiting him a charge of treason against the Romans, with Agrippa as chief accuser, who in advance had sent messengers to defeat the ambitious plans of Antipas.
Leopold Schmutzler (29 March 1864, Stříbro - 20 June 1940, Munich)
Danse de Salomé, circa 1910
oil on artists board
138 x 96 cm. (54.3 x 37.8 in.)
Leopold Schmutzler (29 March 1864, Stříbro - 20 June 1940, Munich) See Below
As to her dancing daughter Salome, there is a tradition gathered from ancient authors, that, having gone out one winter day to dance upon a frozen river, she fell through into the water; the ice, immediately closing round her neck, cut off her head, which bounded upon the surface, thus continuing for some moments the dance of death" (Gueranger 112).
Leopold Schmutzler (29 March 1864, Stříbro - 20 June 1940, Munich)
Lili Marberg as Salome
oil on artists board
138 x 96 cm. (54.3 x 37.8 in.)
Around the turn of the century Schmutzler was one of the most sought portraitists in Munich. He received important commissions, including the Bavarian royal family, but also often painted dancers and actresses. He gained fame with his display of Lili Marberg (1878-1962) in the role of Salome. Marberg played the role in the Deutsches Volkstheater 1906 production.
Leopold Schmutzler (29 March 1864, Stříbro - 20 June 1940, Munich) was a Bohemian-born German painter that specialized in portraits, semi-erotic female figures, and Rococo-style genre scenes in his later years. From 1880 to 1882, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna with Christian Griepenkerl . After that, he transferred to the Academy of Fine Arts Munich He settled there after his graduation in 1885. He also spent brief study periods in Rome and Paris.
By the turn of the century, he had become one of the busiest portrait painters in Munich. He received important commissions from the Bavarian Royal Family, but also portrayed dancers and other popular performers. In fact, one of his best-known portraits was of the actress Lili Marberg (1876-1962) in the role of Salome. (Above)
His style was generally realistic with Art-Deco elements. He always paid great attention to his subject's clothings. In the thirties, he became a supporter of the Nazis and created a series of works that reflected the Blut und Boden ideology. In 1940, not long before his death, Jungfrauen nach der Arbeit (Maidens after Work) won a major award at the "Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung" in the Haus der Kunst and was purchased by Hitler for 7,000 Reichsmarks.
His association with the Nazi regime virtually destroyed his career outside Germany, and his posthumous reputation, although his works may still be seen at several museums, including the Frye Art Museum in Seattle whose founder, Charles Frye (1858-1940), was a great admirer of Schmutzler's pre-Nazi work. More
St. John the Baptist's disciples buried his body at Sebaste, a city in Palestine…and many miracles had occurred at his tomb (cf. Voragine 135). “For this reason the pagans, by order of Julian the Apostate, scattered his bones, but the miracles did not cease, and the bones were collected, burned, and pulverized, and the ashes thrown to the winds to be blown over the fields…” (135).
St. John the Baptist's disciples buried his body at Sebaste, a city in Palestine…and many miracles had occurred at his tomb (cf. Voragine 135). “For this reason the pagans, by order of Julian the Apostate, scattered his bones, but the miracles did not cease, and the bones were collected, burned, and pulverized, and the ashes thrown to the winds to be blown over the fields…” (135).
Guido Reni, (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642)
Salome with the head of St. John Baptist, c. 1640
Oil on canvas
248 x 172 cm
Guido Reni (1575−1642), See Above
On the day when the bones were collected to be burned, some monks from Jerusalem secretly mingled with the pagans and carried out many of the relics, saving them from destruction. They delivered these to Philip, bishop of Jerusalem, who sent them to Anastasius, the bishop of Alexandria. During the Crusades, many of them were brought into the West and distributed among many churches.
After Guido Reni (1575–1642)
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (18th-century copy)
Oil on canvas
170.2 by 132.7 cm
Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style. Born in Bologna into a family of musicians. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. He may also have trained with a painter by the name of Ferrantini. When Reni was about twenty years old, he migrated to the rising rival studio, named Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the "newly embarked", or progressives), led by Lodovico Carracci. They went on to form the nucleus of a prolific and successful school of Bolognese painters who followed Annibale Carracci to Rome. Like many other Bolognese painters, Reni's painting was thematic and eclectic in style. More
Henri Regnault (1843–1871)
Salomé, c. 1870
oil on canvas
160 × 101 cm (63 × 39.8 in)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Alexandre-Georges-Henri Regnault (31 October 1843 – 19 January 1871) was a French painter. Regnault was born in Paris, the son of Henri Victor Regnault. On leaving school he successively entered the studios of Antoine Montfort, Louis Lamothe and Alexandre Cabanel, was beaten for the Prix de Rome (1863) by Joseph Layraud and Xaiver Monchablon, and in 1864 exhibited two portraits in no wise remarkable at the Paris Salon. In 1866, however, he carried off the Prix de Rome with a work of unusual force and distinction Thetis bringing the Arms forged by Vulcan to Achilles (School of the Fine Arts).
The past in Italy did not touch him, but his illustrations to Wey's Rome show how observant he was of actual life and manners; even his Automedon (School of Fine Arts), executed in obedience to Academical regulations, was but a lively recollection of a carnival horse-race. At Rome, moreover, Regnault came into contact with the modern Hispano-Italian school, a school highly materialistic and inclined to regard even the human subject only as one amongst many sources whence to obtain amusement for the eye. The vital, if narrow, energy of this school told on Regnault with ever-increasing force during the few remaining years of his life.
He painted Judith, then, in 1870, Salomé and Execution Without Hearing Under the Moorish Kings, in which the painter had played with the blood of the victim as if he were a jeweller toying with rubies. The Franco-Prussian War arose, and found Regnault foremost in the devoted ranks of the Battle of Buzenval, where he fell on 19 January 1871. His friend, the composer Camille Saint-Saëns dedicated his Marche héroïque (1871) to Regnault's memory. More
It is said that when John was beheaded, Herodias had John’s head taken to Jerusalem to be buried because “she feared that the prophet would return to life if his head was buried with his body. Four hundred years later some monks took the head to venerate it in a more proper place. It was stolen and hidden in a cave.
Jean Benner (1836–1906)
Salomé, c. 1899
oil on canvas
118 × 80 cm (46.5 × 31.5 in)
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes
Jean Benner (28 March 1836, Mulhouse – 28 October 1906, Paris) was a French artist, and twin to fellow artist, Emmanuel Benner. The Benner brothers were first designers at Mulhouse mills and factories. By 30 years of age, he was able to study art with Léon Bonnat, Eck and Jean-Jacques Henner and exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1868. In 1881 he won his first medal there for this painting Le Repos.
He painted still-life, portrait and genre paintings, including After a Storm at Capri (1872), Trappist in Prayer (1875), Petite Falle de Capri, Flowers and Fruits (1868), and Reverie.
He also painted in the Isle of Capri, which was an artist colony at that time, its residents included Frederic Leighton, Walter McLaren, John Singer Sargent, Edouard Alexandre Sain, and Sophie Gengembre Anderson. More
The man who stole it revealed on his deathbed where it was, but the hiding place was kept secret for a long time. Many years later, a holy monk, St. Marcellus, had taken up residence in this cave. It was revealed to him where the head was hidden. The head was then enshrined in a beautiful church in Poitiers in France.
Ella Ferris Pell (American painter) 1846 - 1922
Salome, c 1890
Oil on canvas
129.54 x 86.36 cm, (50¾" x 33¾")
The American painter’s Ella Ferris Pell depiction of Salome differs from the male fin-de-siecle versions. Exhibited in Paris, Pell’s 1890 Salome does not gaze at the viewer with a look of “crazed sexual hunger”. The healthy young woman, evidently an artist’s model of flesh and bone, stands as the lone figure gazing downwardly. Her long flowing hair unbound, she stands in contrapposto holding the charger for the head of John the Baptist. The blood and gore of the male-depicted Salomes is entirely absent from Pell’s version. This Salome is rather the contemplative woman of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. She has more to do with Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s contemplative women than with the blood-thirsty, sexually-charged Salomes of Bonnaud, Moreau, and Beardsley. Thus, in a feminist way, Pell challenges the male image of the evil temptress. Nevertheless, Pell’s painting remained largely ignored by critics, which Dijkstra points to as a sign of the fin-de-siecle’s adamancy to establish Salome as the quintessential image of the femme fatale. More
Ella Ferris Pell was born on January 18th, 1846 in St. Louis, Missouri. Capable in painting, sculpture, and illustrations, she studied with William Rimmer at the Design School for Women at Cooper. Little is conclusively known about her family history; yet, the late Senator Clairborne Pell of Rhode Island presumed her to be the great niece of William Ferris. After graduating from the Design School for Women in 1870, Pell traveled extensively on a five-and-a-half-year voyage to Europe, the Maghreb, and parts of the Near East with her sister Evie A. Todd, and brother Charles. After returning to the states, Pell exhibited several paintings at the National Academy of Design, New York including “La Annunziata” and “Water Vendor, Cairo, Egypt.” The whereabouts of these paintings are unknown. In the 1880’s, Pell studied at “the Académie des Beaux- Arts des Champs- Élysées with Jeal-Paul Laurens, Jacques-Fernand Humbert, and Gatson Casimir Saint-Pierre.” Pell also illustrated Paul Tyner’s love story Through the Invisible, published in 1897. Later on in her career, the Paris Salon accepted three of Pell’s paintings from 1889-90, The Angel Making Adam, Salome, and Portrait of Mme. T. Ella Pell perished in 1922, in New York where she is buried next to her sister in an unmarked grave. More
Éder Gyula (1875-1945), Hungarian
Salomé holding the severed head of John the Baptist (1907)
His pictures are mostly illustrations, portraits, mythological and religious subjects images. Many of his paintings are preserved in the Hungarian National Gallery. More
Salome
Oil on canvas
198 x 141 cm
Caravaggio, (1571–1610)
Salome with the Head of John the baptist
Web Gallery of Art
Pierre Bonnaud, 1865-1930, a French artist born in Lyon. Pierre entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, he was taught by J.B. Poncet. He then went to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Paris where he worked with Jean-Paul Laurens, Bonnat, Gerome and Gustave Moreau. Bonnaud learned how to harmonize colour that is evident in the works he created. He exhibited at the Lyon Salon from 1888 and at the Paris Salon from 1891. His work is fine and of a very high quality, he worked on canvas, panels and Limoges enamelled copper. Pierre painted portraits, still life, genre scenes and history subjects. He enjoyed painting female subjects. More
Caravaggio, (1571–1610)
Salome with the Head of John the baptist
Web Gallery of Art
Caravaggio, byname of Michelangelo Merisi (born September 29, 1571, Milan or Caravaggio [Italy]—died July 18/19, 1610, Porto Ercole, Tuscany), leading Italian painter of the late 16th and early 17th centuries who became famous for the intense and unsettling realism of his large-scale religious works. More
Artists:
Baronzio, Giovanni, c. 1320 - 1350,
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 11 January 1494)
Jacques Daret, c. 1404 – c. 1470
Giuliano Bugiardini, 1475 – 1555
Leonardo da Vinci, 1513–1516
Cristofano Allori (1577–1621)
Anton Raphael Mengs, (1728–1779)
Joan de Joanes, (1510–1579)
Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569)
Mattia Preti (Italian, 1613–1699)
Andrea del Verrocchio, (1436–1488)
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452–1519)
Joachim Patenir (also Patenier), c. 1480 – 5 October 1524
Guido Reni, (1575–1642)
Giovanni Fattori, (1825 - 1908)
Mattia Preti, (1613–1699)
Gozzoli, Benozzo, Florentine, c. 1421 - 1497
Paul Delaroche, (1797–1856)
Jean Sala, (Spanish, born 1895)
Polydore Beaufaux, (1829 - 1905)
Leopold Schmutzler (29 March 1864, Stříbro - 20 June 1940, Munich)
Henri Regnault (1843–1871)
Jean Benner (1836–1906)
Ella Ferris Pell (American painter) 1846 - 1922
Éder Gyula (1875-1945)
Pierre Bonnaud, 1865-1930
Caravaggio, (1571–1610)
Frantisek Drtikol
Acknowledgement: Wikipedia, Catholic Online,
Nabi Yahya Mosque, the main mosque in the village of Sebastiya, near Nablus, West Bank, the traditional burial site of John Baptist,
Date 1900-1920
Frantisek Drtikol
Ervina Kupferova as Salome with the Head of John the Baptist
Frantisek Drtikol
Ervina Kupferova as Salome with the Head of John the Baptist
Artists:
Baronzio, Giovanni, c. 1320 - 1350,
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 11 January 1494)
Jacques Daret, c. 1404 – c. 1470
Giuliano Bugiardini, 1475 – 1555
Leonardo da Vinci, 1513–1516
Cristofano Allori (1577–1621)
Anton Raphael Mengs, (1728–1779)
Joan de Joanes, (1510–1579)
Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569)
Mattia Preti (Italian, 1613–1699)
Andrea del Verrocchio, (1436–1488)
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452–1519)
Joachim Patenir (also Patenier), c. 1480 – 5 October 1524
Guido Reni, (1575–1642)
Giovanni Fattori, (1825 - 1908)
Mattia Preti, (1613–1699)
Gozzoli, Benozzo, Florentine, c. 1421 - 1497
Paul Delaroche, (1797–1856)
Jean Sala, (Spanish, born 1895)
Polydore Beaufaux, (1829 - 1905)
Leopold Schmutzler (29 March 1864, Stříbro - 20 June 1940, Munich)
Henri Regnault (1843–1871)
Jean Benner (1836–1906)
Ella Ferris Pell (American painter) 1846 - 1922
Éder Gyula (1875-1945)
Pierre Bonnaud, 1865-1930
Caravaggio, (1571–1610)
Frantisek Drtikol
Acknowledgement: Wikipedia, Catholic Online,
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