Head of Saint John the Baptist Presented to Salome. François de Nomé

English: These scenes from earliest Christian history are set amid fantasy architecture, mysteriously lit under dark skies. The small scale of the figures makes the buildings seem enormous. De Nomé has imagined ancient streetscapes of Athens and Jerusalem as lined with sculpture and rich architectural ornament. In the scene of St. Paul preaching (Walters 37.328), a circular pagan temple stands next to a lavish entrance to a synagogue, with a statue of Moses at the left that appears to be adapted from the famous Well of Moses of 1395-1404 by Claus Sluter in Dijon. De Nomé's mixture of classical and late medieval Gothic elements from his homeland adds to the uniqueness and eccentricity of the compositions. The small size of the copper plates and the complexity of the compositions call attention to the artist's virtuosity and skill.
Date between circa 1620 and circa 1624 (Baroque)
Medium oil on copper
Dimensions Painted surface Height: 18.9 cm (7.4 in). Width: 24 cm (9.4 in).
Walters Art Museum
Accession number 37.329
Place of creation Naples, Italy
Object history

Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [1897 catalogue: no. 863, as Flemish]
1902: purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore
1931: bequeathed to Walters Art Museum by Henry Walters

Exhibition history An Exhibition of the Treasures of The Walters Art Gallery. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Pace Wildenstein Gallery, New York; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton. 1967. The Fantastic Visions of Monsù Desiderio. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. 1950. Scenes and Spectacles: The Theatre-World of the Baroque. Paul Klapper Library, Flushing. 1962. World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1971-1972. François de Nomé: Theatre of Light and Destruction. The Menil Collection, Houston. 1991-1992.
Credit line Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Inscriptions [Transcription] Inscribed on Saint John the Baptist, lower center: S. MATHEO CAP XIIII; [Translation] Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 14
References Federico Zeri (1976) (in English) Italian paintings in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, no. 343, pp. 466-467 OCLC: 2463997.