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The Execution of Saint John the Baptist

ca. 1770
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 643
This oil sketch by a leading painter and sculptor in Bologna was preparatory for a large altarpiece in the Church of San Michele in Vercelli, northwestern Italy. Salome, who set this story in motion by requesting John the Baptist’s head as her reward for dancing for King Herod, is sketched into the left background. Gandolfi’s painting contrasts the taut energy of the executioner as he rolls up his sleeve with the prayerful attitude of the saint, who is surrounded by swooning angels under the eyes of God. This work’s visionary, anticipatory qualities are enhanced by the extreme compression of the figures into a tight space filled with clouds.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Execution of Saint John the Baptist
  • Artist: Ubaldo Gandolfi (Italian, San Matteo della Decima 1728–1781 Ravenna)
  • Date: ca. 1770
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 24 3/8 × 17 in. (61.9 × 43.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of European Paintings Gifts, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.566
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Adoration of the Shepherds, Ubaldo Gandolfi Italian, Pen and brown ink and wash, traces of black chalk
Adoration of the Shepherds
Ubaldo Gandolfi
mid-to late 18th century
Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV at Canossa, Ubaldo Gandolfi Italian, Terracotta, Italian, Bologna
Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV at Canossa
Ubaldo Gandolfi
ca. 1770–75
The Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple, Ubaldo Gandolfi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and pale brown wash, over black chalk
The Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple
Ubaldo Gandolfi
1728–81
Decapitation of Saint James the Greater, Ubaldo Gandolfi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over slight traces of black chalk
Decapitation of Saint James the Greater
Ubaldo Gandolfi
1728–81
Christ in Glory with Saint Lawrence, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and Saint Eligius., Ubaldo Gandolfi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of graphite
Christ in Glory with Saint Lawrence, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and Saint Eligius.
Ubaldo Gandolfi
ca. 1766

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