Receiving with impassivity, or revulsion, or mild interest the head of St. John the Baptist is one thing, but touching it, fondling it is quite another. There are a number of paintings which show Salome in direct physical contact with the severed head. This hands on contact may be viewed with some revulsion, but it also directly links Salome with the martyrdom. In the paintings of Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist by Pierre Bonnaud (1865) and Lovis Corinth (1900), the contacts take on sexual overtones bordering on necrophilia, or a decidedly unnatural act, particularly with the state of undress seen in Salome. The emphasis seems to be on the nude or semi-nude erotic figure of the princess. Aubrey Beardsley’s Salome assumes witch-like characteristics in his stark black and white illustration (See below), again underlining the erotic, fetishistic action. The hair of St. John the Baptist assumes reptilian character--a male Medusa. This may proceed from Oscar Wilde’s play of Salome and the later Richard Strauss’s opera of the same name in which Herodias is severed from the plot ostensibly and the beheading comes from St. John the Baptist’s refusal to submit to Salome’s sexual advances.

Pierre Bonnaud-Salome with the Head of St. John Baptist (1865)

Lovis Corinth, Salome with the Head of St. John Baptist (1900)

Aubrey Beardsley, Salome with the Head of St. John Baptist (1896)

From the XVI^th Century onward there appears numerous paintings which portray Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist in what may be seen as portrait-like representations--the grisly trophy. Although the model is almost never identified, these representations are, nonetheless, portraits (See below).

Sebastiano del Piombo, Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1510)

The composition is reminiscent of Renaissance portraits with the inclusion of a window and the distant landscape

Antonio de Solario, Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1510)

Solario's Salome recalls portraits of women in courtly garb. The head of St. John the Baptist, treated in low light, nearly melts into the garment of Salome.

Lucas Cranach, Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1530)

A typical Cranach treatment of a young woman in the garb of the Saxon Court.

Onorio Marinari, Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1670)

A rather sweet representation of Salome. The head of St. John the baptist almost appears to be suckling.

Marco Benefiale, Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1720)

Salome, here, could pass for a member of the Court of Louis XIV.

The XX^th and XXI^st Centuries find a dearth of the subject of Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist. The subject has lost its allure. Almost, without exception, when the subject is treated, it is with sexual overtones. The German Art Nouveau proponent, Adolf Frey-Moock’s (1882-1954) paints a veiled Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1910) with obvious erotic implication. So, too, the Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (2007) by the Polish painter, Joanna Chrobak takes on a decidedly sexual overtone (See below).

Adolf Frey-Moock, Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1910)

Joanna Chrobak, Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (2997)