Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes, 'The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist', about 1869
About the work
Overview
Herod, ruler of Galilee, promised his stepdaughter Salome anything she desired if she danced for him; prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. The story of the beheading, with its mixture of religion, violence and eroticism, had been depicted many times in art, not least by Caravaggio and Rembrandt.
Puvis de Chavannes painted two versions of it. This is the second, which he worked on over many years but left unfinished at his death. The haunting and enigmatic scene is posed as if on a stage. The artist paints realistic figures but places them in a carefully composed but artificial composition; each is isolated in their own private world. The Baptist contemplates the cross in his final seconds, his thoughts on Christ and the salvation to come; the executioner starts his sword-sweep with balletic precision and concentration; Salome and Herod look on, their expressions reserved and curious. It is a scene of high drama but painted as a moment of the utmost stillness.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
- Artist dates
- 1824 - 1898
- Date made
- about 1869
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 243.5 × 318.4 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Sir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
- Inventory number
- NG3266
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, with additions and some revisions by Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, etc.’, London 1970; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1899J. Buisson, 'Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, souvenirs intimes', Gazette des beaux-arts, 1899
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1899C. Saunier, 'Petite gazette d'art: Puvis de Chavannes', Revue Blanche, XIX, 1899
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1908C. Ricketts, 'Puvis de Chavannes: A Chapter from "Modern Painters"', The Burlington Magazine, XIII/61, 1908, pp. 2, 9-18
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1917L.H. Cust, 'Manet at the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XXX/168, 1917, pp. 110-5
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1917R. Fry, 'The Sir Hugh Lane Pictures at the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XXX/169, 1917, pp. 148-53
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1917C.J. Holmes, 'New Exhibits at the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XXX/167, 1917, pp. 80-1
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1917C. Phillips, 'National Gallery, II: Sir Hugh Lane's Pictures', Daily Telegraph, 1917
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1940F. Rutter, Modern Masterpieces, London 1940
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
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1970Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
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1972M. Hatz, Frauengestalten des Alten Testaments in der bildenden Kunst von 1850 bis 1918. Eva, Dalila, Judith, Salome, Bamberg 1972
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1976L. d'Argencourt et al., Puvis de Chavannes, 1824-1898 (exh. cat. Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 26 November 1976 - 14 February 1977; National Gallery of Canada, 25 March - 8 May 1977), Paris 1976
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1977A.B. Price, Puvis de Chavannes: A Study of the Easel Paintings and a Catalogue of the Painted Works, Phd Thesis, Yale University 1977
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1979M.-C. Boucher, Palais des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Musée du Petit Palais. Catalogue des dessins et peintures de Puvis de Chavannes, Paris 1979
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1993H. Wine, J. Whiteley and L. Whiteley, Tradition and Revolution in French Art 1700-1880. Paintings and Drawings from Lille (exh. cat. The National Gallery, London, 24 March - 11 July 1993), London 1993
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1994M.-C. Boucher, Les dessins de Puvis de Chavannes du Musée de Picardie, Amiens 1994
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1994A.B. Price et al., Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (exh. cat. Van Gogh Museum, 25 February - 29 May 1994), Amsterdam 1994
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1996J. Leighton and D. Bomford, 'The Beheading of St John the Baptist by Puvis de Chavannes', The Burlington Magazine, CXXXVIII/1122, 1996, pp. 592-8
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1997B. Petrie, Puvis de Chavannes, Aldershot 1997
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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