The Feast of Herod

The Feast of Herod refers to the episode in the Gospels following the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, when Salome presents his head to her parents.

The account in the Book of Mark describes Herod Antipas holding a banquet on his birthday for his high officials and military commanders, and leading men of Galilee.

The girl asks her mother what she should request, and she is told to demand the head of John the Baptist.

Usually the moment shown is the arrival of the head on the platter at the table, carried by Salome.

In the 16th-century, Salome carrying the head, usually with her maid, became a popular subject, usually called Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, led by Titian's depiction of c. 1515, and with different depictions by Caravaggio in London and in Madrid.