The motif is found in the story of the Gospel of Matthew about the wife of King Herod, Herodias, who wished the head of St. John the Forerunner on a plate. In the top-left corner St. John is shown imprisoned, whilst in the centre John is shown bowed over ready for the executioner’s sword, standing above his already decapitated body; above them an angel flies into a crown of martyrdom to St. John. To the right the executioner is shown giving St. John’s head to Herodias’ daughter, Salome. The combination of chronological events all shown “at once” is a common feature of icons. Sunday (11 September) is the commemoration of the Beheading of John the Forerunner in the churches that follow the old calendar.

Exhibited: Albany Institute of History and Art in Washington 1943. A La Vieille Russie in New York, 1962 no. 67.

Provenance: Jacques Zolotnitsky, mentioned as no. 35, p. 108–109 in Paul Muratoff, “Thirty Five Russian Primitives. Jacques Zolotnitsky's collection”, Paris 1931.