The Feast of Herod

myminifactory

This is a bronze bread relief sculpture known as the Feast of Herod, created by Donatello around 1427. It appears on the baptistery of Siena Cathedral in Italy and is one of Donatello's earliest relief sculptures and first bronze relief. The sculpture measures 60 by 60 centimeters and showcases Donatello's use of perspective. The piece depicts the beheading of John the Baptist after Salome asks Herod Antipas for his head on a platter, with an executioner presenting the severed head and Herod reacting in shock. The scene is part of a larger commission by the Opera del Duomo of Siena, which was initially assigned to Lorenzo Ghiberti and two local Sienese artists. However, when Jacopo della Quercia, one of the Sienese artists, failed to meet the desired pace, Donatello's commission for the Feast of Herod relief was added to replace Quercia's work in 1423. The final payment to Donatello was made in 1427 when the finished relief was collected from his workshop in Florence and transported to Siena. The original commission specified that the scene should depict the moment "just as the head of St. John was brought to the table of the king," which Donatello expanded into the Feast of Herod scene now known. This scene combines elements commonly included in the Baptist cycle, such as Salome's dance, the beheading of St. John, and the presentation of the head to King Herod, but brings them together using continuous narrative. Donatello's work differs from earlier depictions by incorporating emotional expressiveness into the figures, particularly with Herod and his companions reacting to the severed head as it is presented. The addition of architectural elements allowed for the incorporation of linear perspective, which draws attention to the important focal points and figures. Donatello was inspired by Filippo Brunelleschi's exploration into a linear perspective system involving orthogonal and transversals. Donatello manipulated this system slightly by having the focal point lead to a "V" of open space, encouraging the eye to move across the panel to the two separate groupings rather than focusing on any one element. The inclusion of linear perspective would later become a standard element in Renaissance painting and sculpture after being described by Leon Battista Alberti in his 1435 treatise Della Pictura. Donatello also used high and low relief to describe the space in which the scene takes place, employing rilievo schiacciato or shallow relief for atmospheric effect and depth. He utilized schiacciato carving to create a sense of greater depth by contrasting it with high relief, allowing specific elements to appear farther away while highlighting the more detailed figures in the foreground.