Artwork
Herodias
Herodias is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Francesco Cairo. It dates from 1635 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Francesco Cairo's Herodias, executed in 1635, is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 75.2 cm in height and 62.5 cm in width. Classified as a painting, the piece depicts a woman rendered through the artist's handling of oil pigments on the textile support. The medium and dimensions are consistent with the collection records of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Francesco Cairo's painting Herodias, created in 1635, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is executed in oil on canvas and measures 75.2 cm in height by 62.5 cm in width. The available sources do not contain specific inventory or accession numbers for the piece, nor do they record any exhibition history.
Overview
Francesco Cairo’s Herodias is an oil painting executed in 1635. The work portrays a solitary female figure set against a luminous yellow drapery, her dark curls and richly textured dress highlighted by a gold earring. The composition is marked by a dramatic tilt of the head and closed eyes, suggesting an inner, heightened emotional state.
Subject & Meaning
The title references the biblical Herodias, yet the image does not depict a narrative scene; instead it isolates the woman in a moment of apparent trance or ecstatic reverie. The closed eyes and upward tilt convey an introspective intensity, inviting contemplation of themes such as desire, power, or spiritual fervor common in Baroque allegory.
Context
The work belongs to the early Italian Baroque movement, a time when artists explored heightened drama and theatricality. Cairo’s cabinet pictures often featured singular, intense figures, aligning with contemporary tastes for intimate, emotionally charged compositions that could be displayed in private chambers.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Francesco Cairo (26 September 1607 – 27 July 1665), also known as Francesco del Cairo, was an Italian Baroque painter active in Lombardy and Piedmont.
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