Salomè con la testa di Giovanni Battista

Enrico Arcioni (Spoleto, 22 February 1875 – Rome, 1954) was an Italian painter and printmaker active between the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century. After graduating from the Scuola Libera at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, he became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia. His artistic training was further enriched in Paris, where he lived from 1892, absorbing the Symbolist and Art Nouveau influences of the time.

From 1900 to 1915, he lived in St. Petersburg, where he was active at the Tsarist court and gained great recognition as a portraitist of the Russian aristocracy. In 1902, he was appointed President of the Italian Art Exhibition in St. Petersburg.

Upon returning to Italy, he settled in Rome, where in 1921 he co-founded the GRIA – Gruppo Romano Incisori Artisti(Roman Group of Engravers and Artists), promoting the art of printmaking. His graphic works are marked by refined formal sensitivity, with a particular focus on feminine subjects.

He held solo exhibitions in Milan (Hotel Continentale) and Rome (Palazzo Doria), and was especially well received abroad, particularly in Paris and St. Petersburg.

Among his most striking works is Salomè con la testa di Giovanni Battista, an oil on canvas that exemplifies Arcioni’s masterful handling of dramatic lighting and symbolic storytelling. The composition is animated by the interplay of backlight and firelight, which together create a theatrical and emotionally charged atmosphere. Salome is portrayed not merely as a biblical character but as an embodiment of sensuality and enigmatic power. The severed head of John the Baptist is rendered with symbolic weight, emphasizing the ecstatic and almost mystical expression on Salome’s face. The scene’s visual tension is heightened by the Art Nouveau fluidity of line and form, placing the painting firmly within the Symbolist tradition.

Salome’s story originates from the New Testament, specifically the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, though she is unnamed in the biblical text. Her name and notoriety come through later historians, such as Flavius Josephus. According to the account, after dancing for Herod Antipas during a banquet, Salome—at the urging of her mother Herodias—demanded the head of John the Baptist as a reward. The tale has long fascinated artists, writers, and composers for its intense mix of eroticism, spiritual tension, and the archetype of the femme fatale. Salome represents themes of seduction and sanctity, innocence and guilt, power and destruction.

Arcioni’s interpretation of this story places him in dialogue with artists like Gustave Moreau, Franz von Stuck, Egon Schiele, and writers such as Oscar Wilde and Richard Strauss, all of whom have explored the enduring myth of Salome. This painting stands as a powerful example of Arcioni’s ability to blend narrative, symbolism, and sensuality into a single compelling image.