This weekend I visited the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art located in downtown Hartford, CT.

The Wadsworth which was founded in 1842 is one of the country’s oldest public art museums. The large collection consists of American and European paintings, sculptures, photographs and decorative arts.

I ventured up to Hartford on a beautiful day and like one of the other students mentioned in their blog, I spent more time there than I had planned on The museum which resembles a castle was beautiful and large.

I toured the first, second, third and fourth floors and finally had to take a rest. I was overwhelmed because I liked so many of the pieces and as I browsed from one piece to the next, the stories from the art, consumed me.

After my brief rest, I collected myself and my things and headed over to the piece that intrigued me the most.

I headed back to the European art collection to “The Feast of Herod”. The oil painting was completed in 1531 by a German artist named Lucas the Elder Cranach. The painting is done on panel that measures 32x47 ⅛ inches.

The painting shows Salome pictured with platter in hand, presenting the head of St. John the Baptist to King Herod. Apparently Salome was a dancer for King Herod and as a reward for her performance, he promised her the head of St. John. Now it’s just my guess but I think that King Herod’s henchman must have delivered the head to Salome and she decides to show off her prize to Herod. She dresses up in her most beautiful dress, covers her hair with a jewel studded wrap, applies her makeup and adds the final touch of her exquisite jewelry and heads over to the castle. Herod is clearly not expecting this spectacle as he is about to eat dinner with a few friends. Salome saunters into the dining hall and causes a scene.

I don’t know what exactly caught my eye first, perhaps it was the head on the platter (go figure) but I also think that the strong colors drew me in. The deep greens, blues and reds in the background contrast well with the bright white from the tablecloth. There was a crackled texture on the surface that represents authenticity and age. Cranach must have taken a great deal of time to add such great details to the clothing. From the tucks and ruffles in the gowns and robes to the pearls that adorn the gowns and necklines of Solome and the seated guest.

Cranach also did a very good job with the facial expressions, they were hilarious and individually they told a story. King Herod looks surprised and uneasy. There also seems to be a bit of fear in his eyes.
Cranach depicts St. John’s suffering well with the mouth slighted opened and the life-less, distressed eyes, and although he’s dead and decapitated, there’s not a hair out of place. Salome’s expression is one of confidence and she is clearly undistracted by the guest’s reaction. Salome’s posture adds a great touch as well and the shadow effect of her body and Herod’s presence on the tablecloth is pretty neat. The servant looks like he has seen this type of thing countless times, the standing guests are scared to look at Herod because this is embarrassing and as for the seated guests, the gentleman is disgusted as he points to the head and well the lady, she is wishing that she stayed at home.

I thought that it was interesting to know that this subject was popular during the 16th century. It served as an example of the power of women over men.

I really enjoyed the museum and I cannot wait to visit again with my family. In addition to the permanent collections they had exhibits on Race and Sport in America, presented by the Amistad Center for Art and Culture and Again, a catalogue of photographs depicting poverty in America from collector Mickey Cartin just to name a few.