[1] It created a sensation when it was exhibited for the first time in Paris at the Salon of 1876 and is arguably Moreau's most important work.

[2] The work depicts a magnificent and extraordinarily ornate palace, where Salome, standing on the tips of her toes, is performing a dance for Herod.

She is wearing a sumptuously bejewelled costume, holding a lotus flower in her right hand, and extending her left arm in a rigid gesture.

In the middle, King Herod is depicted sitting on the throne and facing the forwards, with an executioner standing on the right and a musician and Herodias on the left.

According to the Gospel of Mark, King Herod hosted a feast on his birthday for his nobles, the high officers and the chief men of Galilee.