Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Title: Beheading of St. John the Baptist
  • Creator: Rogier van der Weyden, painter
  • Description: In the foreground, Salome receives St. John’s head on a platter from the executioner as John’s corpse lies on the ground. The background depicts a later point in time, where Salome presents the head to Herodias, who stabs it. The sculpted archivolt reliefs depict events from John’s life, from his preaching in the desert to his arrest, ending with Salome's dance before Herod. The statues in the wall niches depict four of the Apostles, each holding the tool of his martyrdom. Salome is dressed in a lavish ermine-trimmed velvet dress with jewel-encrusted sleeves and hem, and the other figures in the scene are dressed as 15th-century courtiers.
  • Source: Wikimedia Commons
  • Rights: Public domain
  • Subject (See Also): John the Baptist, Saint Salome (Biblical Figure)
  • Geographic Area: Low Countries
  • Century: 15
  • Date: 1455-1460
  • Related Work: St. John the Baptist Altarpiece. Zoom level detail of the altarpiece available from the Gemaldegalerie in Google’s Art Project: http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/gemaldegalerie/the-altar-of-st-john-44
  • Current Location: Berlin, Gemäldegalerie
  • Original Location: Bruges, Church of St. James
  • Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Paintings
  • Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Wood; Oil tempera; Altarpieces;
  • Donor: Layman; Battista Agnelli, a Pisan merchant active in Bruges
  • Height/Width/Length(cm): 77 cm/48 cm/
  • Inscription:
  • Related Resources: