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Salome with the Head of John the Baptist

Titian1560/1570

The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

This is a late work by Titian, master painter of the Italian Renaissance. Although parts of it were started by his workshop, the hand of Titian is evident in the subject's vividly colored costume and jewelry. The same is true of Salome's right arm and the neck of the maid, which X-ray examination has shown to be extensively over-painted. The work refers to an episode described in the New Testament in which Salome displays the head of John the Baptist, the reward she sought for dancing at a banquet for her father King Herod. (Source: Gallery label, July 2016)

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  • Title: Salome with the Head of John the Baptist
  • Date Created: 1560/1570
  • Provenance: King Charles I of England (1600-1649), Hampton Court, by 1649; Intended for the Commonwealth sale 1649-51, but reserved for Oliver Cromwell and probably thereafter kept at Hampton Court or Whitehall; Recovered after the Restoration in 1660 for Charles II of England (1630-1685) and certainly at Whitehall by 1666; In the collection of William III, King of England, at Kensington Palace by 1697; In the Queen's Gallery at Windsor Castle by circa 1705-10; In the Great Drawing Room, Kensington Palace by 1732 and within the Royal collection until some time after 1736 (but not recorded in a 1785-90 inventory); Col. W. Pollok-Morris C.M.G., D.S.O. (1867–1936) of Craig, Kilmarnock, Scotland, by 1913 and recorded in an inventory of his belongings at Craig drawn up in July 1928; By descent to Mrs Ellison J. Dickson, Knowlton, Ayr, Scotland, by whom loaned to The National Trust, Culzean Castle, Ayrshire by 1965, and recorded in an inventory of her collection at Knowlton drawn up in October that year; By family descent until sold ("The Property of a Gentleman"), London, Christie's, 9 December 1994, lot 348, as Studio of Titian, where bought by Colnaghi; From whom acquired by Luigi Koelliker, London; New York, Sotheby's, 29 January 2009, lot 33; From Koelliker acquired by a collector in England, Purchased by the NMWA, 2012.
  • Physical Dimensions: 90 x 83.3 cm
  • Painter: Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian and workshop [Pieve di Cadore, ca. 1485/90 (?) - Venice, 1576]
  • Type: Paintings
  • Rights: http://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/information/privacy.html
  • External Link: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
  • Medium: oil on canvas
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

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