The Dance of Salome (detail) 1462

Curator: Benozzo Gozzoli painted "The Dance of Salome" around 1462, using tempera on panel. This detail now resides in the Kress Collection, here in Washington. Immediately striking is the intense flatness of the space, the shallow depth somehow amplifies the tension, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely! The scene pulsates with a nervous anticipation, it’s like a frozen moment just before something terrible happens, which, of course, it is. Everyone's crammed together, their faces betraying…well, almost nothing. Except maybe the slight unease on some of those cherubic, young faces? Curator: The tempera certainly contributes to the piece's somewhat flattened effect. Its fast-drying nature would've demanded swift execution and careful planning from Gozzoli. Think of the egg yolk binding the pigment; that lends a specific luminescence but also limits layering. This technique required great foresight in depicting the story so graphically. Editor: I find myself captivated by those peculiar platters set on the table; the snacks seem so mundane against the gravity of what we know is about to transpire. The world keeps on snacking as heads are delivered! And yet, it somehow makes the horror more immediate. Curator: It's a juxtaposition characteristic of early Renaissance painting: fusing religious subject matter with depictions of contemporary material life, from garments to feasting paraphernalia. Gozzoli was deeply engaged with how symbolic events resonated within his present day's social frameworks. His workshops, collaborators, the patron’s intentions...it's all intrinsically linked to the final image and it's significance. Editor: I never fail to appreciate art that captures humanity in all its bizarre, beautiful, and brutal glory. Gozzoli offers us a feast, indeed... not one to be savored for its culinary delight, but as food for thought on our messy, maddening mortality. Curator: Indeed, considering the material choices, workshop collaborations, and Gozzoli’s adaptation of the story makes one reconsider preconceived notions about medium or even history paintings, right? Editor: Precisely! What lingers with me isn't just the chilling narrative, but the humanity etched into the details - those snacks, those youthful, vaguely unsettled faces, which is why i keep returning to this piece, finding new details.