CC0 · no rights reserved
Salome
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Salome stands out from Henry Ossawa Tanner's other religious images, which are more conservative than this provocative painting. Salome's demand for the head of John the Baptist is one of the most lurid stories in the Bible. She dances for her stepfather, who rewards her beauty by giving her the prophet’s head on a platter. Here, Tanner presented Salome in a revealing gown, emphasizing her sensuality. The yellow shape in the lower left of the image, marked with red paint, suggests the corpse of John the Baptist.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineSalome. ca. 1900. Henry Ossawa Tanner, born Pittsburgh, PA 1859-died Paris, France 1937. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jesse O. Tanner. CC0.
