“Salome the temptress,” as described in the New Testament, has become emblematic of the modern femme fatale. The prophet John the Baptist condemned the marriage of Salome’s mother, Herodias, to her first husband’s half-brother, Herod Antipas. Antipas imprisoned the Baptist, but Herodias wanted his head. At her mother’s urging, Salome danced suggestively before her stepfather, convincing him to give her anything she desired. She demanded the execution of John the Baptist, whose head Salome then presented to her mother. Moreau’s 1876 painting of Salome levitating the Baptist’s head reflects a pervasive 19th-century fascination with seductive erotic and occult interpretations of the theme. Reproductive prints, such as this one, of Moreau’s painting were circulated widely, perpetuating such morbid characterizations of female sexuality.