The Beheading of St John the Baptist

The Beheading of St John the Baptist

Title

The Beheading of St John the Baptist

[Cat. Prague 2007, No. 27]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Cat. Prague 2007, no. 27]

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

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 on horseback from the left and is accompanied by his entourage.

[cda 2014]

Attribution
Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005, no. 31] [Cat. Prague 2007, no. 27][Exhib. Cat. Prague 2016, no. 26]

Production dates
1600 - 1625
1550 - 1650

Production dates

1600 - 1625

'early 17th century' [Cat. Prague 2007, no. 27][Exhib. Cat. Prague 2016, no. 26]

1550 - 1650

'2nd half of the 16th century - 1st half of the 17th century' [Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005, no. 31]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 84.5 x 58.3 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 84.5 x 58.3 cm

  • [cda 2014]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels

Verso on the frame: - paper label with stamp: '1780'
[Cat. Prague 2007, No. 27]

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Verso on the frame: - paper label with stamp: '1780'

  • [Cat. Prague 2007, No. 27]

Owner
Národní galerie v Praze (National Gallery in Prague)
Repository
Národní galerie v Praze (National Gallery in Prague)
Location
Prague
CDA ID
CZ_NGP_DO5399
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/CZ_NGP_DO5399/

Provenance

  • until 1949 part of the collection of the Cistercian monastery gallery in Osek near Duchov
  • moved to the National Gallery in Prague
    [Cat. Prague 2007, no. 27]

Exhibitions

Brüx-Komotau 1928, no. 219
Prague 2005, no. 31
Prague 2016, no. 26

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Prague 2016 173, 174-177 26 Figs. pp. 43, 174, 175
EditorOlga Kotková
TitleCranach. Ze všech stran. From all sides.
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2016
Pages16-180
Show Literature
Cat. Prague 2007 52 27
AuthorOlga Kotková
TitleNational Gallery in Prague. German and Austrian Painting of the 14th - 16th Centuries. Illustrated Summary Catalogue II/1
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005 52, 118, 119 (English version 24, 45) 31 Pl. p. 119
EditorObrazárna Pražského hradu, Kaliopi Chamonikola
TitlePod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme. Under the winged Serpent. Lucas Cranach and the Czech Land
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Cat. Kromeríž 1998 122
EditorMilan Togner
TitleKromerížská obrazárna. Katalog sbírky obrazu Arcibiskupského zámku v Kromeríži
Place of PublicationKromeríž
Year of Publication1998
Show Literature
Cat. Prague 1962 41-42
AuthorJaroslav Pešina
TitleAlt-deutsche Meister: Von Hans von Tübingen bis Dürer und Cranach
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication1962
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Brüx 1928 26 219
AuthorJosef Opitz
TitleGotische Malerei und Plastik Nordwestböhmens
Place of PublicationBrüx-Komotau
Year of Publication1928
Show Literature
  • The Beheading of St John the Baptist, 1600 - 1625

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr

Technical studies

06. 2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared Reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

- an underdrawing is not readily visible

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2014]

  • photographed by Ingo Sandner
  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

Date06. 2014

  • reverse

Support

- reverse thinned and cradled

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich

2003Scientific analysis

  • Micro-sampling / cross-sections

Paint Layers and Gilding

Natural fine-grained azurite in the blue background, the existence of which almost excludes the possibility that the painting was first created in the second half of the 17th century.

[Exhib. Cat. Pague 2005, No. 31]

  • examined by Mojmír Hamsík

Versions

The Beheading of John the Baptist
  • The Beheading of John the Baptist, about 1600
  • DE_AME_01
  • Painting
  • Angermuseum, Erfurt
The Beheading of St John the Baptist
  • The Beheading of St John the Baptist, 1515
  • CZ_ESGK_KE2367
  • Painting
  • Archdiocese of Olomouc
The Beheading of St John the Baptist
  • The Beheading of St John the Baptist, after 1515
  • RO_MNaR_8110-144
  • Painting
  • Muzeul Național de Artă al României (MNaR)

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_NGP_DO5399/ (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_NGP_DO5399/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

Help us to improve the Cranach Digital Archive.

Please contact us, if you have noticed a mistake.