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Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger

Aelbert Bouts Netherlandish
ca. 1500
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 635

This grisly depiction of John the Baptist’s severed head was once an extremely popular image, due to the saint’s growing cult in the Middle Ages. The panel is one of more than twenty versions produced through the transfer of the design from a common workshop pattern in the circles of Dieric Bouts and his son Aelbert. The mimetic potential of oil painting is used here to create the illusion of a real head on a real platter.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger
  • Artist: Aelbert Bouts (Netherlandish, Leuven ca. 1451/54–1549)
  • Date: ca. 1500
  • Medium: Oil on poplar
  • Dimensions: Diameter 11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Rupert L. Joseph, 1959
  • Object Number: 60.55.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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The Man of Sorrows, Aelbert Bouts Netherlandish, Oil on oak
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Virgin and Child, Joos van Cleve and a collaborator Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Virgin and Child
Joos van Cleve
ca. 1525
Portrait of a Man with Gloves, Corneille de Lyon Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Portrait of a Man with Gloves
Corneille de Lyon
ca. 1535
Jacob Willemsz van Veen (1456–1535), the Artist's Father, Maarten van Heemskerck Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Jacob Willemsz van Veen (1456–1535), the Artist's Father
Maarten van Heemskerck
1532
The Harvesters, Pieter Bruegel the Elder Netherlandish, Oil on wood
The Harvesters
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