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The Legend of Salome

The legend of "Salome" derives from a sparse Biblical account of the decadent stepdaughter of Herod, and her shocking insistence upon the beheading of St. John the Baptist.

The Salome theme was a prominent one in both literature and the visual arts until the end of the Renaissance. It was revived in the nineteenth century by various authors, but when Oscar Wilde wrote his version of Salomé, in 1894, it took the world by storm.

Oscar Wilde

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Even the decadent 1890's were not ready for what was about to happen. There was a wave of mixed reviews surrounding Salomé, but even this was not enough to stop the trends in every area of Victorian life, from paintings all the way to fashion.

Salome was a woman of evil decadence. She was perverse and cunning, yet, beautiful and seductive. She is depicted as the absolute vision of "the greatest evil" to all men.

Salome's risque costumes combined with provocative dances were seducing and manipulating. She is the sensuous and absoluteness of evil, all in the face of her stepfather, King Herod. The public hated her, but yet, loved the naughtiness surrounding her legendary character.

The most notably portrayal of Salome was the "The Dance of the Seven Veils", performed by Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, the Mata Hari..

And to Oscar Wilde's version of Salome, add the symbolic illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley. The association between Beardsley and the controversial Oscar Wilde began in 1893. This association would have a great impact on Beardsley's career. Beardsley produced thirteen images for the 1894 English version of Wilde's play of "Salome" and then assisted in its translation from French.

Oscar Wilde's version of Salome, combined with the illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, and the discoveries being made in the Egyptian tombs, all contributed to the many trends attributed to fashions, paintings, and yes, the risqué photographic postcards at the turn of the century.

And even in the finest points of Salome's evilness, we find nothing disgusting.

This, we must owe to beauty.

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Bibliography:
Salome, Oscar Wilde, 1893