1617
oil
canvas
From the collection of Uffizi Gallery
Salome receives the Head of St. John the Baptist is a 1617 oil by Battistello Caracciolo, a Early Baroque Italian work, held at Uffizi Gallery.
In the painting, a woman in a dark dress with a gold necklace and a crown-like headband looks down at a severed head on a platter. The head is bearded and has a crown of thorns. A man in red and black stands behind the woman, and an older woman in a headscarf and dark clothing stands beside her. The background is dark. The painting is done in a style that emphasizes strong contrasts between light and dark, which creates a dramatic effect. The use of gold and red against the dark background draws attention to the central figures and the severed head. If you're interested in learning more about the use of strong contrasts between light and dark in painting, you might want to look into the technique of chiaroscuro.
Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (also called Battistello) (1578–1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio.
See the richer artist page
