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The original account of the death
of St. John the Baptist in the New Testament is not very long (see Matt 14: 1-12).
Yet his beheading and the young girl who requested his death have given various artists a
strong compulsion to dwell on this macabre event and to embellish it. Perhaps the opera,
"Salome," by Richard Strauss was the work which most propelled the story into
common parlance. The libretto was based on a play by Oscar Wilde and it was,
well...wild! It changed the nature of the original story in very significant ways and was
very shocking when it premiered in 1907. |
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The Biblical story has Salome as a young girl who carries out a mother's
revenge. St. John had told Herod he had no right to his brother's wife ( named
Herodias). Herodias was enraged. Later, when her daughter danced for Herod and
was granted "anything she asked for" by him, the mother told her to ask for St.
John's head. And she did. The artwork on this vintage card is by C.V. Muttich.
It looks much more the Salome of Wilde/Strauss version. See below. |
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This early Russian postcard by L. Schmutzler pictures a Salome which is
even further from the Bible version than the one above. It was clearly influenced by
the opera version. As Wilde re-drew things, Salome tries to kiss St. John and is
spurned. When Herod asks her to dance she first extracts a promise that she will be
rewarded with anything she wants if she does so. She performs the "Dance of
Seven Veils," then demands St. John's head. |
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This fabulous hand-tinted commercial real photo is not identified as a
"Salome," yet it clearly was meant to depict her, specifically or as an
archetype. Because it is a real photo the sensuality of the image is greatly
heightened. An interesting note to all this: In the Bible the daughter of Herodias
does not have a name...this is a later invention. I have only traced it back to an
opera by Massenet, "Herodiade," where the name is used, and was based on a prior
story by the great novelist Flaubert. |
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This is another tinted real photo but a little less provocative than the
one above. It shows an actress in costume for the part of Salome, Else Sarto.
I believe, but am not sure, that this was for a theater production. I imagine it took
some 'spirit' to play this role back then as it caused such outrage. There is one
scene after they bring St. John's head to Salome on a platter that she has to kiss his
dead lips which is a reference back to St. John pushing her aside. So the role was
of a woman who was not only sexy and provocative but also very hard and perverse. |
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This is another Russian postcard by the artist L. Schmutzler which
seems to be part of a different set as it was published later and has a different series
number on back. Please, postcard friends, send me any of these, or any Salome postcards
for that matter, should you get some. I am very curious to see how many different I
can come up with. Photocopy or scan and send if you don't want to part with it. |
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This card is part of a series published by the German magazine, Simplicissimus.
The image is reduced so it is not as immediately enjoyable as some of the
others, but on closer inspection it has distinct advantages. First of all, it
pictures her doing the actual dance while Herod and Herodias watch. The difference
in attention between the two is marked. Secondly, Salome's costume is one of the
boldest of the selections shown here. The artist was Reznicek.
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