The Feast of Herod

Artist Mattia Preti (Italian, 1613-1699)

Place of OriginItaly

Date1656-1661

DimensionsPainting; 70 × 99 1/4 in. (177.8 × 252.1 cm)
Frame: 80 1/2 × 110 × 4 1/2 in. (204.5 × 279.4 × 11.4 cm)

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1961.30

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 36

Label TextAccording to the Gospel of Saint Mark, John the Baptist was imprisoned after he denounced King Herod for marrying his sister-in-law, Herodias. Later, at Herod’s birthday feast, Herodias’s daughter, Salome, danced to entertain the guests. She so pleased the king that he promised her whatever she wished. At her mother’s urging, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist, which she then presented to her mother on a silver charger. In Mattia Preti’s presentation of the shocking event, the major figures—Salome, Herodias (in the center), and Herod—are nearly devoid of emotion. Their forms emerge in light from the shadows behind, and the drama of the event is carried in gestures of the hands. Though the mood and the coloring are dark, Preti convincingly stages a sumptuous banquet, with elaborate garments and jewels and a rich display of tableware on tiered shelves in the background.Published Referencesde Dominici, B., Vite de'pittori, scultori, ed architetti napoletani, Naples, 1742-1743, III, p. 344. N., B., (B. Nicolson), "Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions," Burlington Magazine, CIII, May 1961, p. 195. "New National Gallery Acquisitions," Burlington Magazine, CV, July 1963, p. 296. Dowley, F. H., "Art in Italy, 1600-1700 at the Detroit Institute of Arts," Art Quarterly, XXVII, 1964, pp. 524-525, fig. 6. Frankfurter, A., "Museum Evaluations, 2: Toledo," Art News, LXIII, Jan. 1965, pp. 5, 24, 53, repr. cover, p. 5. Hibbard, H., and M. Lewine, "Seicento at Detroit," Burlington Magazine, CVII, July 1965, pp. 370, 371. Herzog, E., and J. Lehmann, Unbekannte Schätze der Kasseler Gemälde-Galerie, Kassel, 1968, p. 23. Fredericksen, B., and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Collections, Cambridge, MA, 1972, pp.170, 417. The Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 131, pl. 20. Spike, John T., "Mattia Preti's Passage to Malta," Burlington, vol. 120, no. 905, Aug. 1978, p. 498, n. 9. Spike, John T., "Painting in Naples, 1653-1747," in A Taste of Angels, New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, 1987, p. 16, repr. [not in exhib.]. Corace, Erminia, ed., Mattia Preti, Rome, 1989, pp. 28, 29, 152, repr. p. 84 (col.).
Mühlberger, Richard, The Bible in Art: The New Testament, New York, 1990, p. 72, repr. (col.). Hall, Nicholas H. J., ed., Colnaghi in America, New York, 1992, p. 133, (listed). Christiansen, Keith, Italian Painting, New York, 1992, repr. p. 151 (col.). Duncan, Sally Anne, Otto Wittmann: Museum Man for All Seasons, Toledo, 2001, p. 16. Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 171, repr. (col.). Denunzio, Antonio Ernesto, Rubens Van Dyck Ribera: La Collezione de un principe, Napoli, Gallerie d'Italia, 2018. p. 120, repr. 121.

Exhibition HistoryLondon, Colnaghi, Paintings by Old Masters, 1961, no. 5, repr. Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Art in Italy 1600-1700, 1965, no. 151, repr. (entry by F. Cummings). London, Royal Academy; Washington, National Gallery of Art, Painting in Naples from Caravaggio to Giordano, 1982, no. 107, pp. 215, 216, repr., and det. (col.) p. 95, entry by Maria Utili [shown in Washington only]. Naples, Museo di Capodimonte, Mattia Preti tra Roma, Napoli e Malta, 1999, p. 136, repr. (col.). Williamsburg, Muscarelle Museum of Art, A Brush with Passion: Mattia Preti (1613-1699): Paintings from North American Collections in Honor of the 400th Anniversary of His Birth, February 6-April 14, 2013, no. 3, pp. 14, 36, repr. (col.) p. 37, repr. det. (col.) p. 16. Naples, Italy, Gallerie d'Italia - Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Rubens, Van Dyck, Ribera: The Collection of a Prince, Dec. 5, 2018-Apr. 7, 2019.