Copy after the painting St John the Baptist before Herod by Masolino in Castiglione d'Olona

1867

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Dominant colour

Copy after the painting St John the Baptist before Herod by Masolino in Castiglione d'Olona is a 1867 watercolor by Edward Kaiser, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Edward Kaiser
When & what style?: 1867
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This painting shows four figures in a dim, tiled room. A seated woman in a dark dress holds a child on her lap, while a bearded man in a light robe stands pointing toward them. Two men in armor stand nearby—one with a helmet under his arm. The walls are made of dark, cracked tiles, and the scene looks faded, like old wallpaper. The standing man holds a scroll with Latin writing, which might be a key detail. The colors are muted, and the figures look stiff, almost like cutouts. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see this work in person.

The story of this work

Overview

The drawing depicts four figures in an arched room, with Herod and Herodias seated on the left; Herod gestures toward John the Baptist, who stands in a white robe holding a banded inscription and is restrained by a soldier behind him. Executed in 1867 as a watercolour copy for the Arundel Society, it reproduces Masolino’s lost painting *St John the Baptist before Herod*. The work was acquired by the present owner in 1995 from the National Gallery of London.

Read the full account in the museum source.