Andalusian school; late 17th century.
"Head of Saint John the Baptist".
Oil on pine panel.
It has faults and restorations.
It has a frame from the middle of the 18th century.
Measurements: 30,5 x 23 cm; 81 x 50 cm (frame).
In this canvas the author deals with a theme of great dramatism, very much in accordance with the popular sensibility of the Spain of the time, strongly influenced by the Counter-Reformation, which demanded from the art a realistic language so that the faithful could understand and identify with what was represented, and an expression endowed with an intense emotional content to increase the fervour and devotion of the people. Thus we see the decapitated head of the Baptist, placed on the silver tray on which it was given to Salome. However, there are no narrative elements to tell the story; it is a static, devotional composition in which we see only the severed head, in a pool of blood, on the tray placed on a table dressed in a rich red cloth. The space is undefined and closed, with a dark background worked in neutral tones against which the saint's head stands out, strongly illuminated by a light of Tenebrist heritage, directed and contrasted, which leaves the secondary areas of the composition in semi-darkness, focusing the viewer's attention on the saint's dead face.