The Decollation of Saint John the Baptist

Another autograph composition of the subject, but of portrait format, is in the Chiesa di Barzio, Como, datable through documentary evidence to 1655 on basis of documents (see S. Coppa, 'Alcune aggiunte al catalogo di Giovanni Stefano Montalto', Brera. Notizie dalla pinacoteca, no. 17, 1988, p. 3). The figures of the Baptist, Salome and the executioner are identical in the present picture, however the artist has changed the composition by adding on the right side the female figure inspired by the Saint Martha by Francesco del Cairo in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nîmes.

We are grateful to Professor Francesco Frangi for the above information.