The copperplate was in the sale by Clement de Jonghe (1679, as 6 St.Johns, onthoofdingh). It later appeared in the sale by Pieter de Haan (1767, lot 31) and was sold via Fouquet to Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786). It then became part of the set of plates subsequently owned and used for printing Recueils by Pierre-François Basan (1723-1797), Henri-Louis Basan (his nr 1401), Auguste Jean (ca 1809), Veuve Jean, Auguste and Michel Bernard (1846), Alvin-Beaumont (1906) and Robert Lee Humber (1937). It was sold at the Artemis sale in London (1993) to Salomon Lilian in Amsterdam and is now in the collection of George and Ilona Kremer (Wassenaar, the Netherlands).

Matthew 14, verses 3-11 and Marcus 6: 24-28.
King Herod ordered the beheading of John as a reward for a dance performed by his stepdaughter Salomé. She asked for this reward on a suggestion by her mother Herodias, the king’s new wife. The king, his wife and Salomé watch the scene from a distance.

As in many other works Rembrandt does not chose the moment(s) most often pictured by other artists, – in this case ‘after the execution’, the head severed from the body or presented on a platter -, but the minutes just before that, when John patiently awaits his fate.

Münz assumes that Rembrandt made use of a woodcut of 1513 by Lucas Cranach (1472-1553, Hollstein 87), of which prints were published by N. Visscher.
Jaco Rutgers suggested the influence of an etching by Frans Crabbe (c. 1480-1553, Hollstein 26).

Rembrandt and/or his pupils made at least eight studies for this etching (Benesch 477-482) including one showing three different stages of the ‘process’ (Benesch 479, British Museum). This one, one in the Rijksmuseum (Benesch 482 and 482 verso) and one in the Musée Bonnat in Bayonne (Benesch 477) are attributed to Rembrandt, the others to his pupils. In Benesch 477 and 480 John is kneeling in the exact same position.

There is a copy in reverse by David Deuchar, inscribed Rembrandt f (130 x 108 mm, WB)

The etching is considered as special by Seidlitz and Singer.

The New Hollstein list three states, only the 1st state by Rembrandt. Most other authors list two states, Biörklund three, Nowell-Usticke four, from his 3rd state there are later impressions by Watelet, P.F. Basan, H.Basan, Jean, Bernard and possibly Beaumont.
In the 1st state (NH, WB, R294) the spears and helmets of the soldiers to the left of the executioner are barely visible. There is a small blank area of 1 cm directly under the sword of the executioner. The etching is delicate, but insufficient acid is used.
In the 2nd state (NH, WB final, BB, NU) the spears and helmets are more clearly defined with the burin. The blank space is filled with horizontal shading. Based on watermark research it is certain that this state is already posthumous.
The 3rd state (NH, BB, NU, R295) is re-bitten. There are strong diagonal left-right shadings left of the hat and forehead of the boy holding the tray. New lines are added to the woman behind St.John and to the bank in the foreground, just right of the knees of St.John. The area around the balcony is printing heavier than before.
Later impressions are by P.F. and H. Basan. The arch in the background is hardly visible In the 4th state (NU Bernard, Beaumont) the plate is rebitten. There is strong diagonal right-left shading above the woman and the man to her right. Jean has made early impressions, Bernard has later reworked the plate, again.

There is a maculature of the 1st state in the Rijksmuseum (WB, not listed in NH).

The etching appears in the Recueil de Basan, impressions very light (NU).
B&W 54 – Recueil de Basan – Page 5                      NH: 2^nd state of III/WB: 2^nd and final state.
A weak impression.

B&W 206 – Recueil de Beaumont –  Sheet 32      NH: 3^rd and final state/WB: 2^nd and final state.
A much darker impression than the one in the Recueil de Basan, but many details are lost. The people in the background are hardly recognizable.

In the 1st state: Arms of Bristol; Strasbourg lily.
In the 2nd state: Pro Patria (1699 or later)

H 171, BB 40-B, G 92, M 209, Mz 209, RA 294-295, Cl 96, W 97, Bl 40, Du 74, CD 129
Tümpel p. 72; Krönig p.100-108; Rembrandts passie, p. 90-91; Hinterding 2008, p. 202ff;

New Hollstein: 2nd state of III/White-Boon: 2nd state of II
A later impression, possibly by Basan, almost certainly a 2nd state, since it is much darker than the impression in the Recueil de Basan. The arches are still well visible, the cross-hatching in the bank in the foreground is missing.
There is a small brown stain on the breast of St. John. Verso in the lower margin a brown ink spot and remains of adhesive in the corners, which shine through lightly.
Sheet 127/128 x 103/104 mm, thread margins of 1 mm on the right side, cut on the platemark elsewhere.
No watermark, horizontal chain lines at distances variating between 22 and 26 mm.

Rembrandt in Zwart-Wit, Museum Gouda, July – October 2014;