The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
The Met
Artist: Spanish (Catalan) Painter(mid-15th century)
Department: European Paintings
Classification: Paintings
Medium: Tempera and gold on wood
Dimensions: 33 3/4 x 34 in. (85.7 x 86.4 cm)
Credit Line: The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
Visual Descriptions
AI GeneratedVisual Summary
Brief Description
A man presents a severed head on a platter to women, with figures on a castle wall.
Detailed Description
On the far left, a reddish-brown building with a small, dark window is visible. A pale hand, stained with red liquid, emerges from this window. Standing next to the building, a man with a beard, wearing a red tunic, a white apron, and a helmet, holds a large, curved sword pointed downwards. He faces right. In the center, another man, dressed in dark armor and a helmet, holds a golden platter bearing a severed, bearded head with a halo. He presents this head to a group of women standing to his right. The women are dressed in elaborate gowns; one prominent figure wears a patterned gold dress, while another in a dark blue gown with red trim raises her hands. Several other women, some with head coverings, stand behind them, observing the scene. Behind the figures, a grey stone wall with battlements stretches horizontally across the mid-ground. Above this wall, in the upper background, three figures wearing various hats peer over the battlements, looking down at the scene below. The sky above the wall is a light, clear blue. The ground in the foreground is a dark, earthy brown.
Generated by gemini-2.5-flash
