Scuola emiliano-bolognese (XVII) - Salomè riceve la testa di San Giovanni Battista - XL format

Italian School, Emiliano-Romagnolo area
XVII century (1600/1650)

“Salomé receives the head of Saint John the Baptist”

Oil on canvas / museum work
Measurements: 125 x 97 cm in a later-period frame
Canvas: 116 x 87 cm

Description

The painting depicts the gospel episode of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, in the moment immediately after the execution. The executioner, portrayed as a vigorous almost-naked male figure, holds the severed head of the Baptist by the hair and is about to lay it in the large basin presented by Salomé.
The young woman occupies the right side of the composition and is depicted with particular refinement: she wears a sumptuous dress in green and gray tones, enhanced by a large red drape, and wears a double pearl necklace around her neck. The elegance of the figure and the delicacy of the flesh tones create an intentional contrast with the brutality of the episode depicted.
In the foreground lies the decapitated body of the Baptist, while further figures emerge from the shadow on the left-hand side. The staging, the pronounced chiaroscuro and the alternation of reds, greens, browns and flesh tones give the representation a strongly theatrical character.
Stylistically, the work appears referable to Italian painting of the XVII century, with characteristics that suggest, attributively, an Emiliano-Romagnolo milieu. The monumental scale of the figures, the attention to the flesh tones and to the drapery, the narrative taste and the contrast between idealization of the female figure and greater naturalism of the male figures are coherent with the figurative culture of the Seicento.

Frame

Golden wooden frame with an ornamental moulded profile, with internal corded decoration. It shows abrasions, wear, small losses and alterations of the gilding compatible with age and use.

The frame appears plausibly of a later period than the painting and is considered an accessory element of the work.

Condition report

The work presents in general good conservation status, for its age.
The surface shows widespread craquelure, with varying direction and size, particularly evident in the flesh tones and in the Baptist’s head. Abrasions, localized wear of the paint layer, small losses and surface irregularities are observable.
The varnish appears partly oxidized and inhomogeneous, causing a general lowering of tonal values, especially in the dark areas and the background. Close-up photographs also reveal a textured painted surface and some phenomena of contraction and settling of the preparatory and paint layers.

*** Photographic note
The photographic images of the work were taken with the aid of professional studio lighting and spotlights to allow better legibility of the composition, details and painting matter. This lighting may cause slight variations in color perception and brightness compared with direct viewing of the work. The photographs are intended for illustrative and documentary purposes only.

The frame is provided free of charge as a gift with the work and must therefore be considered an accessory element, not included in the economic valuation of the painting. Given the natural fragility of antique and gilded frames, any damage, detachment, breakage or loss of parts of the frame that occur during transport or shipping cannot be the subject of refund, compensation, or dispute relating to the value of the work. The packaging will, however, be prepared with the utmost care to ensure, as far as possible, safe transport.

Insured shipping
Attribution Expertise

*** For reasons of historical interest the work cannot be shipped outside the European Community / insured shipment in a wooden crate