The Beheading of St John the Baptist

Title

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 73]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood	[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 20]
oak wood	[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84, No. 73]

The soldier with the halberd on the left in the foreground bears the physiognomy of Cranach and looks out at the viewer. St John the Baptist lies on the ground behind him. The henchman has already decapitated him and gives his head to Salome, who places it on a silver plate. Behind her is a group of female attendants. Salome's stepfather Herod enters the scene from the left on horseback accompanied by his entourage. A mountain forest landscape with numerous castles is visible in the background. The coat-of-arms of Stanislaus Thurzo, Bishop of Olmütz is illustrated in the bottom left corner.

[see Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 20]

Attribution: Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 20]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84, No. 73]

Production date: 1515

Production date

1515

[dated]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 84 x 58 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 84 x 58 cm
[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 20]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84, No. 73]

Signature / Dating: Artist's insignia on the halberd of the soldier standing on the left in the foreground: winged serpent and dated '1515'

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the halberd of the soldier standing on the left in the foreground: winged serpent and dated '1515'
[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 20]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84, No. 73]

Owner: Archdiocese of Olomouc
Repository: Archbishop's Castle and Gardens Kromeríz
Location: Kromeríz

CDA ID: CZ_ESGK_KE2367
FR (1978) Nr.: FR073
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/CZ_ESGK_KE2367/

Connected Works

Provenance

created for Stanislaus Thurzo
[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 21]
possibly originally in the Cathedral of St Wenzel or in the collegial church of St Moritz in Olmütz
[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 21]

Exhibitions

Frankfurt 2008, No. 20

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Wegmann 2017

20, 21, 24

Fig. 1 (detail), 5

Author	Susanne Wegmann
Title	Der selbstbewusste Maler. Lucas Cranach der Ältere im Selbstbildnis
Publication	in Gunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer, eds., Lucas Cranach der Ältere. Meister - Marke - Moderne. [Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017]
Place of Publication	Munich
Year of Publication	2017
Pages	20-27

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Prague 2016

91, 92, 176, 177

Editor	Olga Kotková
Title	Cranach. Ze všech stran. From all sides.
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2016
Pages	16-180

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Görres, Heydenreich, Kotková 2016

Fig. p. 7

Author	Olga Kotková, Gunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres
Title	Introduction
Publication	in Olga Kotková, ed., Cranach. Ze všech stran. From all sides., Exhib. Cat. Prague
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2016
Pages	11-17

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Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010

Editor	Bozarbooks & Lannoo, Guido Messling
Title	Die Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys [anlässlich der Ausstellung "Die Welt des Lucas Cranach", Palast der Schönen Künste, Brüssel, 20. Oktober 2010 - 23. Januar 2011]
Place of Publication	Brussels
Year of Publication	2010

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007

159-161

p. 160

Editor	Bodo Brinkmann
Title	Cranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of Publication	Ostfildern
Year of Publication	2007

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Schade 2007

Author	Werner Schade
Title	Cranachs Berührung durch die Niederlande. Antinomien einer Reisebetrachtung
Publication	in Bodo Brinkmann, ed., Cranach der Ältere, Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt
Place of Publication	Ostfildern
Year of Publication	2007
Pages	91-97

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Chamonikola 2005 B

14 (English version 6)

Author	Kaliopi Chamonikola
Title	Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme/ Lucas Cranach and the Czech Lands
Publication	in Kaliopi Chamonikola, ed., Pod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme, Under the winged Serpent, Lucas Cranach and the Czech Lands, Exhib. Prague 2005
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2005
Pages	13-33 (6-15)

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Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005

46, 52, 53, 112, 118 (English version 22, 24, 43, 45)

Pl. p. 53

Editor	Obrazárna Pražského hradu, Kaliopi Chamonikola
Title	Pod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme. Under the winged Serpent. Lucas Cranach and the Czech Land
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2005

Show Literature

Kotkova 2005 A

10 (English version 5)

Fig. p. 10 (detail)

Author	Olga Kotková
Title	Lucas Cranach. Vývesní stít staronemecké malby/ Lucas Cranach. The signboard of Old German Painting
Publication	in Kaliopi Chamonikola, ed., Pod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme, Under the winged Serpent, Lucas Cranach and the Czech Lands, Exhib. Prague 2005
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2005
Pages	8-12 (4-5)

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Cat. Kromeríž 1998

122

Editor	Milan Togner
Title	Kromerížská obrazárna. Katalog sbírky obrazu Arcibiskupského zámku v Kromeríži
Place of Publication	Kromeríž
Year of Publication	1998

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Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994

225

Editor	Claus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff
Title	Lucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken [Festung Rosenberg, Kronach 17.05 - 21.08.1994; Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig 07.09 - 06.11.1994]
Series	Veröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume	26
Place of Publication	Augsburg, Coburg
Year of Publication	1994

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Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979

No. 73

Fig. 73

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Editor	G. Schwartz
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Basel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication	1979

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Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976

Author	Dieter Koepplin, Tilman Falk
Title	Lukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik
Volume	1, 2
Place of Publication	Basel, Stuttgart
Year of Publication	1974
Link	http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-diglit-104522

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Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Berlin
Year of Publication	1932
Link	http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932

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Research History / Discussion

The presumption that the soldier standing on the left in the foreground could be a self-portrait of Cranach was first suggested by Benesch. Friedländer and Rosenberg agree with this identification. In the Frankfurt catalogue the author suggests that the motive for the self-portrait is Cranach’s pride at being commissioned by such an important figure.

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84, No. 73]

The pendant to this painting depicts the beheading of St Catherine and is in the same collection (FR74).

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84, No. 73]

Both panels may once have been the verso of wing panels, which were part of a triptych.

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, No. 20]

This scene was copied numerous times (FR73A-C).

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84, No. 73]

The Beheading of St John the Baptist, 1515

Images

Technical studies

02. 2008Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brush

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- thin lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details and the facial features

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Elder?

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

Versions

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'The Beheading of St John the Baptist', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CZ_ESGK_KE2367/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'The Beheading of St John the Baptist', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CZ_ESGK_KE2367/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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