Herodias with the Head of John the Baptist
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 8 × 5.5 cm (3 3/16 × 2 3/16 in.); Sheet: 8.6 × 6.2 cm (3 7/16 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
77368
Art Historical Context
In the Prints and Drawings department of the Art Institute of Chicago sits a captivating small-scale engraving titled *Herodias with Head of John the Baptist created by German artist Heinrich Aldegrever in 1528. This intricate work depicts the biblical figure Herodias triumphantly receiving the severed head of John the Baptist a platter, drawn from the New Testament story in the Gospel of Mark. Rendered in black on ivory laid paper the plate measures just 8 × 5.5 cm, inviting viewers to lean in close and marvel at its fine details. Aldegrever, a master engraver and goldsmith from Essen, was a...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...