Salome with the Head of John the Baptist 1607

This is Caravaggio’s ‘Salome with the Head of John the Baptist’, painted in Italy sometime around 1607-1610. It depicts a biblical scene of Salome, daughter of Herodias, holding the severed head of John the Baptist, accompanied by an old maidservant and the executioner. Caravaggio was active during the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church sought to reaffirm its spiritual authority after the rise of Protestantism. Artists were encouraged to depict religious subjects with clarity and emotional impact. Caravaggio’s work did this, but he challenged existing social norms by using ordinary people as models, and he injected a brutal realism into his scenes. This is evident in the unflinching depiction of John the Baptist's severed head. The lack of idealization and dramatic lighting created powerful and sometimes disturbing images. Understanding the Council of Trent and the artistic climate it engendered is vital to interpreting this painting. We see a reflection of religious and social tensions of the time, and the artist's unique response to them. By consulting historical documents and theological treatises, we can get a much better understanding of Caravaggio's world.