Salome with the head of Saint John the Baptist

Jacques Stella was the son of the Flemish artist, François Stella, under whom he is likely to have studied, before working for Cosimo II de Medici in Florence in 1616. In 1623 he moved to Rome and remained there for a decade, where he was very much influenced by the Clacissism of Nicolas Poussin. In 1634, Stella visited Venice, Milan, and Lyon before arriving in Paris to become Painter to the King under Louis XIII. He remained in France, working in Paris, Rouen, and Versailles.