Herod and Herodias with the head of Saint John the Baptist

Montalto depicts here a rare variation of the subject derived from Saint Jerome’s Apologia adversus Rufinum. According to Saint Jerome, Herodias, unsatisfied with Saint John the Baptist's beheading, further desecrated the deceased's body by piercing the tongue that accused her with a needle. The Gospel of Mark records the story of Herodias, who conspired to bring about the execution of Saint John the Baptist (6:19-20). Herod imprisoned John the Baptist for condemning the morality of Herod and Herodias’ marriage, as Herodias had previously been wedded to her husband's half-brother. Fearing the Baptist’s followers would riot, Herod refused to execute John for his treachery. At the celebrations of Herod’s birthday, Herodias’ daughter from her first marriage, Salome, performed a dance that pleased Herod and he in return offered to grant her a wish. Prompted by her mother’s desire for revenge, Salome demanded the head of John the Baptist.

Little is known about Montalato, who trained as a painter in the workshop of the Milanese painter Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli, known as Morazzone. It is likely that the young painter made the acquaintance of Francesco del Cairo, who favored macabre biblical subjects and often included exuberantly painted turbans on his figures, while working with Morazzone. Del Cairo’s influence on the young Montalto in this painting has been noted by Francesco Frangi, to whom we are grateful for proposing the attribution on the basis of photographs (private communication, 27 July 2022).