Herod's Birthday Feast

The title suggests that the main female figure is Salome dancing for Kind Herod II in order to secure the beheading of John the Baptist. The story comes from the Bibical gospel of Matthew and describes how Herod orders John the Baptist's execution against his better judgement. Salome is often used as a symbol of manipulative sexuality and destructiveness. Here, the artist has painted the female figure nude, before painting clothing over the top. In the 1890s, Salome became a regular subject of Decadent art. Oscar Wilde's 1891 play Salome,originally written in French, popularised the idea of the 'dance of the seven veils', and the play was heavily censored for its erotic connotations.