Episodes from the Lives of Mary Magdalene and Saint John the Baptist
1356 - 1359.Room 050
An altarpiece with Bible stories of the life of Saint John the Baptist. At the top, Salome dances for Herod, king of Galilee, in order to ask for Saint John´s head as recompense (Mark 6, 21-28). That martyrdom occupies the scene just below. The last scene depicts the moment when Saint John is buried by his disciples (Mark 6, 29). It also shows a posthumous miracle. The three figures on the predella, or bottom of the panel, are a woman saint, Saint Laurence holding the grill on which he was martyred and a martyr´s palm, and Saint Paul, who carries the sword of his martyrdom and a book alluding to his writing. This panel, along with its companion (P03106), were the sides of the altarpiece of the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Tobed (Zaragoza). Its central panel included the Virgin, the Christ Child and King Enrique II of Castile (1333-1379), who was the donor.
