How you can use this image
This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).
Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.
The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
Buy a print or image licence
You can purchase this reproduction
If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.
Notes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
The story of the death of John the Baptist is related in the Gospel of Mark (6: 16–29). John had criticised King Herod for marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias, and she sought revenge. At Herod’s birthday feast, Herodias’s daughter Salome so delighted the King by her dancing that he promised her anything she wanted. Encouraged by her mother, she asked for the Baptist’s head, and the King had John executed. This is a late work by Caravaggio, probably painted towards the end of his life. He has reduced the story to its essentials, focusing on the human tragedy and conveying the scene’s emotional power through a restricted range of colour, pronounced chiaroscuro and dramatic gesture. The brutish executioner places John’s head on a salver held by Salome, whose serious expression and sidelong glance are enigmatic.
Title
Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist
Date
1607-10
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 91.5 x W 106.7 cm
Accession number
NG6389
Acquisition method
Bought, 1970
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
-
The Supper at Emmaus The National Gallery, London -
Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist The National Gallery, London -
Boy bitten by a Lizard The National Gallery, London -
Saint John the Baptist Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC) -
The Cardsharps National Trust, The Argory -
Life Study Glynn Vivian Art Gallery -
The Supper at Emmaus National Trust, Tatton Park - 8 more
Stories
-
Can you separate the artist from the art?Ruth Millington
-
Top artist biopicsDavid Ekserdjian
-
Caravaggio: fury, food and fine artGillian Riley
-
Why look at Old Masters?Nicola Jennings