The Feast of Herod

The Feast of Herod, also known as Salome, is a work by Donatello conserved at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille. It is a rectangular white Carrara marble bas-relief made around 1435 using the new relievo schiacciato technique invented by Donatello. The scene is taken from the Gospels and shows two moments in the story at once: Salome’s dance before Herod and the presentation of John the Baptist’s severed head. The composition places Salome at the center, while a second figure of her appears on the left in a gesture of repulsion. Around Herod, the guests react with horror and consternation.

The Feast of Herod relief showing figures gathered around a table beside a dancing figure in an arched architectural setting. — Donatello’s The Feast of Herod relief, with figures arranged around a table and a dancer in the center of an architectural scene.
January 2008 © Vassil · Public domain

The Feast of Herod stone relief showing banquet figures beneath arches and stairs in a detailed architectural setting. — Donatello’s The Feast of Herod shown as a detailed stone relief with figures gathered at a banquet and near a staircase.
March 2007 © Remi Jouan · CC BY-SA 3.0

The Feast of Herod relief shown above a version overlaid with red perspective lines. — Donatello’s The Feast of Herod relief is shown with a perspective analysis overlay in the lower panel.
1435 © Sdegroisse · CC BY-SA 4.0

Close-up of a small sculpted figure from Donatello\'s Feast of Herod, seated on steps beside draped fabric. — A close-up detail from Donatello\'s Feast of Herod, showing a small figure seated on steps beside drapery.
March 2017 © Sailko · CC BY 3.0

Identification
Title	The Feast of Herod
Alternative titles	Salomé; Danza di Salomè; Il Banchetto di Erode; Le Festin d’Hérode
Type	Bas-relief
Shape	Rectangular
Historical context
Treatise	De pictura by Leon Battista Alberti, written in Florence in 1435
Source	The Gospels
Date	circa 1435
Date attribution	Mid-1430s, based on analogy with the stuccoes of the Old Sacristy, especially the Ascension of Saint John the Evangelist
Creator
Artist	Donatello
Technique attribution note	A new technique invented by Donatello
Attribution	Attributed to Donatello; generally accepted as probably by Donatello
Materials
Material	White Carrara marble
Technique
Technique	Relievo schiacciato (stiacciato relief)
Perspective	Uses rigorous perspective rules; described as the first bronze bas-relief to which Donatello applied such rules
Relation to Alberti	Applies principles defined by Leon Battista Alberti in De pictura
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	43.5 × 65 cm
Composition depth	About 1 cm thick
Number of planes	About ten successive planes
Location and ownership
Current location	Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Lille
Discovery and provenance
Bequest date	1834
Original placement	First floor of the Palazzo Medici, in the antechamber separating Lorenzo de' Medici's bedroom from his study
Bequest recipient	Society of Sciences, Agriculture and Arts of Lille
Acquirer	Jean-Baptiste Wicar
Provenance	Later lost track of; acquired by Jean-Baptiste Wicar at the beginning of the 19th century; bequeathed to the Society of Sciences, Agriculture and Arts of Lille in 1834
Probable identification	Probably identifiable with the relief listed in the inventory of the possessions of Lorenzo de' Medici after his death in 1492
Probable source document	Inventory of Palazzo Medici compiled in 1492 after the death of Lorenzo de' Medici
Iconography and meaning
Figure reactions	Salome turns away in repulsion; the guests express horror and consternation; one guest covers his eyes; the soldiers appear disturbed
Interpretation	The dancing Salome is interpreted as a spectral evocation of the stratagem used to have the saint killed
Background elements	The prison bars of John the Baptist are visible in the background
Salome depiction	Salome is shown in ancient-style dress and appears twice in the composition
Additional figures	An executioner carrying a sword and shield, a man on the staircase, a sleeping child, and a group of soldiers
Herod depiction	Herod receives the presentation of John the Baptist’s head
Left scene	A kneeling servant presents the severed head of Saint John the Baptist to Herod
Central scene	Salome’s dance of the seven veils
Narrative structure	A single composition combining two episodes: Salome’s dance and the presentation of Saint John the Baptist’s head to Herod
Subject	The banquet of Herod, where Salome dances and Herod orders the head of Saint John the Baptist to be presented
Appearance
Main artistic focus	Architecture, especially the virtuoso staircase on the right, foreshortened in perspective
Spatial treatment	Figures are placed effectively in space, with arches and openings revealing depth and an open space extending beyond the relief
Background feature	A foreshortened, obliquely seen pediment appears in the background
Style	Less dramatic than the Siena relief, with a more linear action and mildly grotesque accents
Significance
Comparative work	The analogous Banquet of Herod in Siena, cast in bronze by Donatello in 1423–1427
Interpretation of autonomy	Generally interpreted as an independent work; no traces are known of it having belonged to a decorative complex
Certainty note	The identification and interpretation are presented as probable or generally accepted, not certain
Other
Comparative work material	Bronze cast

The Feast of Herod

Identification

Historical context

Creator

Materials

Technique

Physical characteristics

Location and ownership

Discovery and provenance

Iconography and meaning

Appearance

Significance

Other