The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist

Notes from the museum

Blood spills from Saint John the Baptist’s freshly severed neck as a henchman places his head on a golden platter. Sienese painter Giovanni di Paolo illustrated the life of John the Baptist in a twelve-part series; this panel depicts the moments just after John’s beheading, ordered by King Herod at the request of his daughter, Salome. The gruesome details contrast with the other figures’ placid expressions and the executioner’s casual pose as he returns his sword to its scabbard. The building itself, with its strict geometry, is likewise at odds with the rivulets of blood that pour over the patterned street. Other panels in the series include scenes of John’s birth, his departure for a hermit’s life in the wilderness, his prophecy of Christ’s coming, performing Jesus’s baptism, and his imprisonment. The complex, detailed settings exploit the narrow proportions of the panels and set off the figures’ expressive poses. Throughout the series, the artist repeated background elements, colors, and patterns to create a unified, easily legible narrative. Assembled in three rows, the original ensemble probably served as doors for a shrine containing a sacred relic (probably a body part) associated with John the Baptist. Of the eleven panels that survive, six are at the Art Institute .

Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.

Slow Look

1. The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
2. The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
3. The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
4. One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
5. The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?

About Giovanni di Paolo

Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena, becoming a prolific painter and illustrator of manuscripts, including Dante's texts. He was one of the most important painters of the 15th century Sienese School. His early works show the influence of earlier Sienese masters, but his later style was more individual, characterized by cold, harsh colours and elongated forms. His style also took on the influence of International Gothic artists such as Gentile da Fabriano. Many of his works have an unusual dreamlike atmosphere, such as the surrealistic Miracle of St. N

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