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Salome with the Head of John the Baptist by Caravaggio, National Gallery (London)
by andrea.guagni 7,1 Million

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist by Caravaggio, National Gallery (London)

A Sony Alpha 7R Mark IV — 1/160s ƒ/3.2 ISO 12800 at 30 mm

N 0 B 1 C 0 E Mar 14, 2025 F Mar 16, 2025

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Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London), c. 1607/1610, is a painting by the Italian master Caravaggio now in the collection of the National Gallery in London.
The painting was discovered in a private collection in 1959. The early Caravaggio biographer Giovanni Bellori, writing in 1673, mentions a Salome with the Head of John the Baptist sent by the artist to the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta in the hope of regaining favour after having been expelled from the Order in 1608. It seems likely, however, that Bellori was referring to a different painting by Caravaggio of the same subject (see Salome with the Head of John the Baptist at the Royal Palace of Madrid). The handling and the raking light link this painting to works done in Naples during the artist's brief stay in the city during 1606–1607, an impression confirmed by the balances between Salome and the Virgin in the Madonna of the Rosary, and between the executioner holding the head of the Baptist and one of the two torturers in Christ at the Column and The Flagellation of Christ.
From November to February 2012–2013, this painting was part of the exhibition "Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy" at the LACMA.

Tags: Caravaggio London national-gallery Londra England Salome Emmaus

Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, National Gallery (London)
by andrea.guagni 7,1 Million

Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, National Gallery (London)

by andrea.guagni 7,1 Million

A Sony Alpha 7R Mark IV — 1/160s ƒ/4 ISO 10000 at 32 mm

N 0 B 1 C 0 E Mar 14, 2025 F Mar 16, 2025

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The Supper at Emmaus is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, executed in 1601, and now in London. It depicts the Gospel story of the resurrected Jesus's appearance in Emmaus.
Originally this painting was commissioned and paid for by Ciriaco Mattei, brother of cardinal Girolamo Mattei.
The painting depicts the moment when the resurrected but incognito Jesus reveals himself to two of his disciples (presumed to be Luke and Cleopas) in the town of Emmaus, only to soon vanish from their sight (Gospel of Luke 24: 30–31). Cleopas wears the scallop shell of a pilgrim. The other apostle wears torn clothes. Cleopas gesticulates in a perspectively-challenging extension of arms in and out of the frame of reference. The standing groom, forehead smooth and face in darkness, appears oblivious to the event. The painting is unusual for the life-sized figures, the dark and blank background. The table lays out a still-life meal with the basket of food teetering over the edge.
In the Gospel of Mark (16:12) Jesus is said to have appeared to them "in another form", which may be why he is depicted beardless here, as opposed to the bearded Christ in Calling of St Matthew, where a group of seated money counters is interrupted by the recruiting Christ. It is also a recurring theme in Caravaggio's paintings to find the sublime interrupting the daily routine. The unexalted humanity is apt for this scene, since the human Jesus has made himself unrecognizable to his disciples, and at once confirms and surmounts his humanity. Caravaggio seems to suggest that perhaps a Jesus could enter our daily encounters. The dark background envelops the tableau.
The basket of fruit in the foreground has two stray strands of wicker that form an ichthys, the early Christian fish-symbol for Christ. The shadow of the fruit on the tablecloth forms the body of a fish and fishtail.

Tags: Caravaggio London national-gallery Londra England Salome Emmaus