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| Artist | Teniers, David, II (Flemish painter, 1610-1690) After Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish painter and draftsman, 1577-1640) |
| Title | The Feast of Herod |
| Alternative/previous titles | The Daughter of Herodias before Herod |
| Date earliest | about 1660 |
| Date latest | about 1690 |
| Material | oil on metal (copper) |
| Measurements | 57.8 x 75.2 cm |
| Description | St John the Baptist had been preaching against the wicked ways of the Queen, Herodias. At the Feast of Herod, Salome's dancing so entranced the King that he offered her the gift of her choice. At her mother Herodias' prompting, she chose the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. Salome presents the head of the saint as if it is another course in the feast. Herod recoils in horror but Herodias, unmoved, prods the head with a fork. Teniers' painting is based on a larger painting by Rubens in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. Teniers was appointed court painter to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and made custodian of the Archduke's pictures and also made copies of some of the paintings in the collection. |
| Subject | religion (Herod, Herodias, Salome, St John the Baptist) |
| Collection | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery |
| Current accession number | 1925P81 |
| Previous accession number(s) | P.81ยด25 |
| Acquisition details | Bequeathed by Sir Claude Phillips 1925. |
| Principal publications | Catalogue of Paintings in Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery, 1960; Foreign Paintings in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, A Summary Catalogue, 1983, no. 145 |
| Notes | |
| Rights status | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery |
| Author | Dr Patricia Smyth |
