Description: Although the root of the Hebrew name â oeSalomeâ is â oepeacefulâ , the image spawned by the most famous woman to carry that name has been anything but peaceful. She and her story have long been linked to the beheading of John the Baptist, as described in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, since Salome was the supposed catalyst for the prophetâ (TM)s execution.
This history of the myth of Salome describes the process by which that myth was created, the roles that art, literature, theology and music played in that creation, and how Salomeâ (TM)s image as evil varied from one period to another according to the prevailing cultural myths surrounding women. After setting forth the Biblical and historical origins of the Salome story, the book examines the major cultural, literary and artistic works which developed and propagated it, including those by Filippo Lippi, Rogier van der Weyden, Titian, Moreau, Beardsley, MallarmÃ(c), Wilde and Richard Strauss.
Brief description: Rosina Neginsky is Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She teaches comparative literature and art history. She is the president and founder of the international interdisciplinary organization Art, Literature, Music in Symbolism and Decadence (ALMSD), the author of the book Zinaida Vengerova: In Search of Beauty, of several books of poetry, of which the most recent is Juggler, and the editor of the volume Symbolism, Its Origins and Its Consequences. Neginsky is a 2008 recipient of the University Scholar Award, the most prestigious award which the University of Illinois gives to members of the faculty.