HAGOP GURDJIAN (1881–1948)

HAGOP GURDJIAN (1881–1948)

H 800mm / L 590mm

Painted terracotta, signed and dated on the terrace.

An identical bronze piece is in the National Gallery in Yerevan, Armenia.

According to an episode in the New Testament, the Governor of Galilee, Herod, was dazzled by the charm of his beautiful daughter, Salome, when she danced before him. He was conquered, and he promised to fulfil her every desire. Urged on by her mother, Herod’s sister-in-law, who he was in love with, Salome demanded the head of the prophet John the Baptist, who had criticized the customs of the royal family in his sermons. Herod brought him his head on a plate, and Salome gave it to her mother.

This episode has inspired art and literature for centuries, especially the symbolists and romantics of the 19th century. Heinrich Heine, Gustave Flaubert, Jules Massenet, Oscar Wilde and many others were inspired by this ambiguous character.

Hagop Gurdjian’s Salome masterfully illustrates this cold sensuality, in a representation typical of the 20th century “Art Deco” style.