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Salome is an oil painting, probably of Salome with the head of John the Baptist, by the Italian late Renaissance painter Titian. It is usually dated to around 1515 and is now in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome. Like other paintings of this subject, it has sometimes been considered to represent Judith with the Head of Holofernes, the other biblical incident found in art showing a female and a severed male head. Historically, the main figure has also been called Herodias, the mother of Salome.

Sometimes attributed to Giorgione, the painting is now usually seen as one where Titian's personal style can be seen in development, with a "sense of physical proximity and involvement of the viewer", in which "expert handling of the malleable oil medium enabled the artist to evoke the sensation of softly spun hair upon creamy flesh".

Erwin Panofsky suggested the head of John the Baptist might be a self-portrait, and it is possible that Titian was alluding to his private life with the model, anticipating Cristofano Allori's, Judith with the Head of Holofernes (1613, Royal Collection, and other versions), where the severed head was a self-portrait and Judith and the maid portraits of his ex-mistress and her mother. The model here, allowing for a degree of idealization, has been said to be the same used in the Dresden Venus (Giorgione and Titian, c. 1510) and Venus and Cupid (c.1510-1515).

This composition was copied many times, in some cases at least by Titian's workshop.

Biblical Story of Salome
The story of Salome and her mother, Herodias, took place in the New Testament, specifically in the Book of Mark 6:14-29. In the text, Salome was left nameless, only being identified as Salome by historian Flavious Josephus. Coming from the Hewbrew name Shlomith, Salome means “she who brings peace and tranquility”.

The day of John the Baptist’s beheading takes place on Herod’s birthday. John the Baptist had been imprisoned because he had called the marriage between Herodia and Herod as unlawful. Herodia had previously been with Herod’s brother, Philip, and remarried without her previous husband having died. In addition, the marriage was seen as incestuous. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, a marriage between uncle and niece is incest, which was the case for Herod and Herodias.

Salome is said to have “pleased” Herod and his guests by dancing. This can be interpreted in several different ways. Many believe that she seduced Herod with her erotic dancing. However, it can also be interpreted as that the men enjoyed the dance Salome performed. Regardless, Herod was impacted in such a way that he promised Salome whatever she wanted. Salome conferred with her mother about this oath and her mother replies with wanting the head of John the Baptist. His accusations of her unlawful marriage are what bring his untimely beheading. Salome returns to Herod informing him that she would like John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Herod is shocked and unnerved by this request. However, to not go back on an oath, he orders the beheading of John.

Salome, Judith, or Herodias?
The possible provenance of the painting begins in 1533, with a Judith by Titian recorded in the collection of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, a very important patron of Titian. No other surviving Titian painting seems to fit this record, so if it is not the painting now in Rome, it must be lost. In 1592 Duke Alfonso's granddaughter, Lucrezia d'Este (1535–1598) owned a painting described as a "Herodias" (Salome's mother). What is certainly the Doria Pamphilj painting belonged by 1603 to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini before passing to his niece Olimpia Aldobrandini, whose second husband was the ex-cardinal Camillo Pamphilj; since then it has passed by descent through the family. In the 18th century the painting was called a Herodias, but a number of foreign visitors who saw it record thinking the main figure to be Judith.

If the painting's main figure was Herodias, traditionally seen as the prime mover of the conspiracy to get John the Baptist executed, the younger woman next to her would be intended to represent her daughter Salome, here shown as a figure in thrall to her more glamourous mother. The identification as Herodias seems to have no recent supporters, but that as Judith does.

A medieval addition to the Salome legend held that, as well as her mother's hatred of John for his preaching against her, Salome was also motivated by a frustrated love for John, to which the cupid might refer. Her face is turned away from his head, but her eyes look back to it. Panofsky describes her as: "Meditative, sad and a little benumbed, she seems to recoil from the face of St. John which yet attracts her sidelong glances with irresistible force". Meanwhile, the maid "looks at the heroine with the eyes of a faithful dog who feels and shares his master's distress without comprehending its cause". Thus, in the pyramidal group of figures, the glances flow from the maid on the left, up to Salome at centre, and down to John at right, whose dead eyes are closed.

The use of erotic allure on male figures of power is the core of both stories, but to the church and Titian's contemporaries, Herodias and Salome were bad, but Judith a heroine. Both stories were part of the repertoire of the Power of Women topos, mainly a feature of German art in this period, but whose subjects were also depicted in Italy. The small Cupid at the top of the arch reinforces the eroticism of the treatment, suggesting either Salome's lust for John, (or Herod's implied attraction to Salome) or that of Holfernes for Judith, according to choice. It has also been suggested that the use of cupids on the keystone of arches was common in public buildings of the period in Venice, which "stresses the official nature of St. John's imprisonment and execution".

The presence of a maidservant is usual in depictions of Judith (following the Book of Judith, which mentions her), but not in those of Salome with the head of John the Baptist. During the time of when this painting was completed, Judith was depicted alone, triumphantly displaying Holofernes head. When the portrayal of Judith’s maid, Abra, was introduced, she is shown as Asian or Middle Eastern as a deliberate attempt to be a foil to European beauty. Some assert that the child can be a young boy delivering the severed head to Salome. Many artists in 14th and 15th century Tuscany depicted a male servant.

On the other hand, the head on a dish is normally associated with Salome's story, and is mentioned in the gospel, while Judith often puts hers in a sack, or carries it by the hair, both also following the text of their story. In addition, Judith is typically depicted with a sword. A single lock of hair falling over the face was considered highly alluring, and associated with courtesans, perhaps suggesting Salome is indeed the subject, though Judith is described as using every effort to dress seductively.

The murky background at the left includes a fitting at the top, between the two women's heads, which is described as a lock by Panofsky, though it might be a hinge also. This marks the vertical edge of a zone with a slightly different tint, perhaps showing the transition from a door to a wall. What could be an iron bar, or door top, is to the left of the fitting. The Pasadena version also shows a fitting and change in colour. This suggests the paintings show the women leaving the prison where John was killed, to return with the head to the head to Herod's feast, a version of the story often shown in art, though not exactly following the gospel, in which a soldier presents the head on a dish to Herod, who gives it to Salome, who in turn gives it to her mother. The biblical text is very clear that Holofernes is assassinated in his tent in his camp, and the scene (rare in art) where Judith shows the head to the people of Bethulia happens at night inside the city gate, so the background of the painting is difficult to reconcile with a depiction of Judith.

Attribution and Date
As with other small Titians from the 1510s, the attribution has wavered over the centuries, beginning with Titian in early records, but (almost inevitably) becoming attributed to Giorgione by the 19th century, until Crowe and Cavalcaselle attributed it to il Pordenone. By the end of that century it was once again attributed by most to Titian, which has remained the usual view among experts.

The Norton Simon Museum version was attributed to Titian in sales in England between 1801 and 1859, but a sale in London in 1891 called it a Giorgione.

Though a date of about 1515 has long been the usual view, purely on stylistic grounds, Charles Hope has suggested about 1511. This is partly because of its relationship to Sebastiano del Piombo's Salome of 1510 (National Gallery), where the setting also moves from dark at the left to light at the right. This has also been regarded by some as a "Judith".

Context
The painting relates to two different types of painting found in Venetian painting in the years dominated by Giorgione, including his posthumous influence. The first is a number of Venetian paintings of the 1510s showing two or three half-length figures with heads close together, often with their expressions and interactions enigmatic. Many of these are "Giorgionesque" genre or tronie subjects where the subjects are anonymous. But Titian's Lucretia and her Husband shows a specific subject, even if views differ as to the point in the story shown. His Bravo may have a specific subject; both of these are now in Vienna. The Lovers (Royal Collection) probably does not. His Tribute Money (Dresden, c. 1516) has a clear subject, also from the New Testament.

Titian’s Salome is modeled after Giorgione’s Judith, which can explain the previous identification of the Salome painting of Giorgione’s. Here, Salome is seen as a half-length against a dark background with the only light coming from an arched doorway. Salome is sensualized, with her hair falling over the shoulders as well as John the Baptist’s hair falling over her bare arms. Her clothing shows her bare forearms and the slight glimpse of her right nipple. There is also an influence from Leonardo da Vinci can be seen in this painting see through Salome’s S-shape pose.

The other type it relates to is Titian's series of belle donne half-length female figures from the mid-1510s, which also includes Lucretia and her Husband, as well as the single figures of Flora at the Uffizi, the Woman with a Mirror at the Louvre, the Violante and Vanity in Munich. Most of these have the appearance of portraits, and were sometimes regarded as contemporaries as portraits of leading Venetian courtesans, but are best thought of as idealized figures of beautiful women which may only loosely reflect any individual. This type was more long-lived in Venetian painting, and made by many other artists; Palma Vecchio for one made a speciality of them.

This specific portrayal of Salome done by Titian has been secularized, but historically, imagery of Salome has been frequent in religious paintings, emphasizing her position in Christian history. She is seen as a type of women “worthies”, “women of virtue from the Christian tradition” and from biblical and historical past. The piece might even be called a “post-devotional icon” since it represents the fusion of Christian biblical icon and Venetian sensuous half-lengths.

A Possible Love Story
One can assume the air of love in this painting due to the imagery of the Cupid on the arch in the background. This can show the implication of an amorous relationship between Salome and John the Baptist, emphasized by Salome’s refusal to look at her dead “lover’s” head. Interestedly, the alignment of the severed head and the cupid can infer another interpretation. It was John that caused his own downfall and not the women involved in the biblical story. Cupids are used to promote peace rather than war. The consequence of deviating from peace are seen on the platter that is located right below Cupid.

Another contributor to the idea of a love story is the severed head of John the Baptist. The theme of gifting a woman your dismembered heart was frequent in European literature, such in Dante’s Vita Nuova and in Boccaccio’s tragic love stories. It can be said that Salome is holding the head close to her chest affectionately, while attempting to look away from the miserable faith of her lover. The intimacy of the background and her outfit is more representative of a bedroom, like in a Boccaccio story.

Severed Head as Self-Portrait
Erwin Panofsky suggests that John the Baptist’s head is actually a self-portrait of Titian. He includes that Titian uses Salome as a medium to show the result of a love-stricken Titian: such pain experienced, like that of being decapitated. Ludovico Foscari was the first to suggest this interpretation. This is common among artists such that it has garnered its own title: self-portraits en decapite. Artists use the severed heads as self-portraits with profound emotions, many times portraying the despair  being felt by the artist.

In addition, he suggests that Titian used a woman named Cecilia as the model for Salome. Titian was in love with Cecilia for many years and eventually married her. This potential characterization of Titian and Cecilia as John and Salome can explain the amorous atmosphere this painting evokes. In 16th century portraits, the images of Salome and John the Baptist were frequently used to show two lovers. Again, this suggests that Titian is proclaiming his love for the woman meant to symbolize Salome, whether that be Cecilia or another woman.

This severed head can also be interpreted another way other than the pain one feels as a product of love. Titian can be showing the sacrifice he makes and the pain he experiences as an artist.

Feminist Perspective
Many feminist scholars have taken a new, modern look at the story of Salome. One major point to come up is the uncertainty surrounding Salome’s age. It is thought that Salome is a teenager during this story, but new interpretations pinpoint her age closer to 12. This brings up the issue of a adolescent performing an erotic dance in front of adult men. If her age were to be this young, it reinforces the idea that Herod and his guests were an engaged audience for a young girl’s performance. In addition, the idea of Salome seducing Herod is thought to have sprung after Mark’s text. It is also important to consider her age when analyzing her obedience to her mother’s request. Like most children of her age, a parent is idealized and their words are law.

In the retelling of this story by Flavius Josephus, he does not mention Salome or Herodias, showing that these women could have not even been present or caused John’s execution. Viewing Salome and Herodias as the main players in John the Baptist’s beheading adds to the idea of the femme fatale. It can not be ignored the two women involved in this story, however, one thing that gets overlooked is Herod’s role. He is often seen as the victim of the women’s treachery. However, it is Herod who orders the beheading of John.

It is Herod, among other men at the banquet, who takes pleasure in Salome’s dancing, which ultimately leads to John the Baptist’s beheading. Femininity is constructed as “to-be-looked-at-ness”. Events occur not because of the doing of women, but because men are looking at them. The objectification of women causes the action of men, yet, women are still blamed for men’s actions.

Versions
There are several early repetitions that might be by Titian or his workshop, or both. A version now in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena has been considered to be the best of the workshop versions. It was also in the Doria Pamphilj collection between Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini at the start of the 17th century and 1797–98 during the French revolutionary invasion of Italy, when much Italian art was sold, mostly to the English, in anticipation of the French looting it otherwise. William Young Ottley was the initial purchaser, who took it to London and sold it in 1801.

Another version that was part of the collections of Prince Salviati, Christina of Sweden and of Prince Odescalchi is now owned by the real estate magnate Luke Brugnara. That Salome was also attributed to il Pordenone and Giorgione, and finally to Titian in the late 19th century.