# Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

**Bernardino Luini** (Italian, c. 1480-c. 1532)  
1500s or later  
oil on canvas  
Framed: 72.1 x 87 x 5.7 cm (28 3/8 x 34 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.); Unframed: 46.6 x 59.7 cm (18 3/8 x 23 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916.824. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.824).

## About this work

Salome’s dancing so pleased her stepfather Herod that he offered her anything she wanted. Her mother advised Salome to demand John the Baptist’s head, which Salome presented to her family on an elaborate dish. Despite its biblical source, this work was meant for a domestic setting, whose owner would have admired the elegant presentation of a shocking story.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Bernardino Luini painted this in the 1500s or later, aged about 20. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **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.

### [Bernardino Luini](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/bernardino-luini)

Italian, c. 1480-c. 1532

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Italy, Milan
- The artist was about 20
- Real size: about 18 × 24 in (47 × 60 cm). The 18 × 24 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 15th century
- Movement: [Renaissance](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/renaissance)
- 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/489.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/489/1920.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-97190).