Salome 1906

Franz von Stuck's 'Salome' is a painting of intimate scale, made with oil on panel. He’s using thin layers of paint, almost translucent, to build up the image. Look how he embraces the surface of the panel, letting the wood grain peek through in places – it's like he's collaborating with the material itself. The color palette is dark and moody, with stark contrasts. Salome’s pale skin against the deep blue of the night sky really makes her pop. And then there's that eerie green of her skirt, echoed in the gruesome bejewelled platter. Check out the way he renders the glow around John the Baptist’s head on the platter, almost like a halo. It’s a strange mix of the sacred and the profane! Von Stuck was a contemporary of Gustav Klimt, and you can see some similarities in their decadent and symbolic styles. But Von Stuck's got this darker, more theatrical edge. Art’s a conversation, right?