In this gruesome picture Alfred Janes painted the Bible story of Salome and her mother Herodias and their plot to kill John the Baptist. He painted it in 1938 when he was 27 in his home town of Swansea. He produced many paintings at this time that were balanced and full of pattern.
The story is that when Salome danced for King Herod he said he would give her whatever she asked as a reward. She and her mother decided to ask for the head of John the Baptist because he had argued with her mother. Herod could not break his promise so he had John killed and gave his head to Salome on a plate. The story was often a subject for artists. It has been made into plays, operas, ballets and films.