Follower of Tiziano Vecellio, Salomé, 1620, Oil on Canvas

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Description

Titian (pieve di cadore, 1490 - venice, 1576) follower/workshop

salome with the head of john the baptist

oil on canvas

… Read more Titian (pieve di cadore, 1490 - venice, 1576) follower/workshop

salome with the head of john the baptist

oil on canvas

116 x 99 cm. - in antique frame 144 x 121 cm.

the proposed work draws inspiration from titian's splendid painting "salome with the head of john the baptist," now in the prado museum in madrid, a masterpiece of the veronese master's maturity, painted around 1550.

the beautiful jewish princess salome, daughter of herodias and herod philip i, occupies the center of the table, portrayed with the features of a typical venetian renaissance beauty, wearing sumptuous 16th-century attire, including a red damask gown and wide white sleeves that emphasize her sensuality and movement.

she triumphantly holds a silver platter bearing the severed head of saint john the baptist, illustrating a biblical passage from matthew (14:1-11) and mark (6:22-28). According to the biblical narrative, salome received the head as a reward from king herod, who was enchanted by the dance the young woman performed in his honor, at the instigation of her mother herodias.

the compositional choice of directing salome's captivating gaze directly at us, the viewer of the painting, captivates us with her sweetness and detachment from the episode in which she is the protagonist: this stylistic choice transforms the biblical scene into a direct psychological encounter with the viewer, with emotional involvement.

returning to our painting, it is a valuable work, in good condition, created by a follower or likely a painter from the same workshop as titian.

the composition is highly interesting: it is not a simple replica of a well-known painting by the master, but rather a combination of sources of inspiration. Specifically, the figure of salome is based on the famous painting titian created around 1550, now in the prado museum in madrid (ref. 1), while the figures of the two maids accompanying the protagonist are portraits in the most typical titian style.

in particular, both the woman in profile on the left and the one looking upward recall other female figures painted by titian: we can find them, almost identically, in works such as the allegory of love (titian, wawel royal castle collection, krakow - ref. 2), where both female prototypes are present, or in the allegory of spain helping religion (titian, prado museum, madrid - ref. 3).

the success of this composition is evident in the countless replicas and versions of highly variable quality from titian's workshop, often reworked in a secular style, replacing the baptist's head with other decorative elements: for example, in the 'portrait of a woman with a fruit tray' (gemäldegalerie, staatliche museen, berlin, - ref. 4), and in the 'portrait of a young woman with fruit' (private collection, vienna, - ref. 5), both works in which the baptist's head has given way to fruit compositions, as has the portrait of a young woman with a casket (sotheby's, london, 12 may 1976, no. 97, - ref. 6).

ref. 1. Titian, salome with the head of john the baptist, 1550, madrid, prado
ref. 2. Titian, allegory of love (wawel royal castle collection, krakow)
ref. 3. Titian, allegory of spain helping religion (titian, prado museum, madrid)
ref. 4. Titian, portrait of a woman with a tray of fruit (gemäldegalerie, staatliche museen, berlin)
ref. 5 titian, portrait of a young woman with fruit (private collection, vienna)
ref. 6 titian, portrait of a young woman with a casket (sotheby's, london, may 12, 1976, no. 97)

additional information:

the work is complete with an antique frame that has undergone restoration and is sold with a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic . This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



issues arising from misattribution See less