Salome
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The Tate Gallery
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William L. Pressly, 'James Barry: Artist as Hero', London: The Tate Gallery, 1983, p 115-6, no 60
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St John the Baptist had condemned King Herod's marriage to Herodias, his brother's wife, thereby ensuring the queen's implacable hatred. Herod, enraptured by the dancing of Herodias' daughter Salome, swore to grant whatever she should wish, and, instructed by her mother, Salome requested the head of the offending saint. For his interpretation, Barry relied heavily on Ruben's depiction of this story as it appears in Schelte a Bolswert's engraving. He, however, reduces the number of participants and greatly condences the image. He classicizes many of the details and also strikes more forcibly a horrific note, emphasising the look of agitation on the King's face and the tension in his hand clutching the tablecloth. The saint's head enjoys greater prominence in Barry's version as well. This subject combines two of Barry's major themes: the martyrdom of a great man who had fearlessly spoken the truth without regard to the consequences and the evil that occurs when men (in this case the King) permit their judgement to be circumvented by scheming women. (Pressly, 115-6)
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Other Titles: The Feast of Herod
Publisher: The Tate Gallery
Type of material: Image