Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577 - Antwerp 1640). Oil painting on canvas, Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Seigen 1577 - Antwerp 1640), 1760. This painting depicts a story from the book of Matthew in the Bible, when Salome, who has danced for King Herod, is offered anything she wishes. Her mother, Herodias, had asked her to request the head of John the Baptist, which she does. The King, bound by his promise, fulfilled her wish. Three standing figures. The central female, Salome, is turned to left, head slightly facing, with dark long brown hair, wearing a crimson cloak with a rope of gems, her right arm over a charger containing the the head of the Baptist on a circular dish held by a handmaid to her left, who raises her gaze to Salome. On the right a bearded man, the executioner dressed in armour, a sword gripped in his right hand, extends his left hand to place John's head on the dish. Set in a gloomy prison, with barred ovoid opening above. Lyme Park, Cheshire (Accredited Museum)