# Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

**Jacob Duck** (Dutch, c. 1600–1667)  
mid-1600s  
oil on wood  
Framed: 92 x 76.5 x 4 cm (36 1/4 x 30 1/8 x 1 9/16 in.); Unframed: 71 x 54.6 cm (27 15/16 x 21 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.79. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.79).

## About this work

The colorful, exotic garments worn by the woman at the right demonstrate Jacob Duck’s skill in painting luxurious surfaces: she is Salome, daughter of Herodias. According to the New Testament, Herodias bore a grudge against John the Baptist, who condemned her marriage to Herod, ruler of Galilee and Perea. At a celebration dinner, Salome so charmed Herod with her dancing that he offered her anything she desired—and Herodias convinced Salome to demand John the Baptist’s head. Rather than depicting the actual execution, Duck focused on the executioner’s muscled physique as he departs the scene, turning to look at the viewer after having presented Salome with John’s severed head.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Jacob Duck painted this in the mid-1600s, aged about 40. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Jacob Duck](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/jacob-duck)

Dutch, c. 1600–1667

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Netherlands
- The artist was about 40
- Real size: about 28 × 21 in (71 × 55 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 17th century
- Movement: [Dutch Golden Age](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/dutch-golden-age)
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/694.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/694/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/salome-with-the-head-of-saint-john-the-baptist-cma-148366).