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Herodias

before 1635
Not on view
Herodias—the mother of Salome—swoons at the sight of the head of John the Baptist, which she had urged her daughter to demand on a platter as a reward for her dance. Unfortunately, the bottom of the canvas was cut to eliminate the grisly detail of John’s head. Cairo made something of a specialty of grisly subjects, combining acts of violence and a kind of morbid eroticism. The picture was painted in Turin, where the artist was court painter to Duke Vittorio Amedeo I of Savoy (1587–1637) between 1633 and 1637.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Herodias
  • Artist: Francesco Cairo (Italian, Milan 1607–1665 Milan)
  • Date: before 1635
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 29 5/8 x 24 5/8 in. (75.2 x 62.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Paul Ganz, in memory of Rudolf Wittkower, 1973
  • Object Number: 1973.165
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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