Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

Andrea Solari painted this Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist around 1506 in Milan. The gruesome subject of the Baptist's severed head presented on a platter allowed Solari to demonstrate his Leonardesque technique in rendering both the beautiful Salome and the macabre trophy. The subject was popular in Italian Renaissance painting. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

Oil on panel with refined Leonardesque sfumato and the juxtaposition of female beauty with the graphic realism of the severed head. Solari's smooth modeling and subtle light effects create a powerful emotional contrast.