“Slaves of Love” in paintings in the Town Hall
At first glance it seems that the slaves of love are also a theme of baroque paintings on the walls of the Town Hall. When entering the Council Chamber, right above the door, one can recognize the images of Samson and Delilah (on the right). Near the window (on the left), Herodias with John the Baptist´s head are depicted. Actually, when the interior of the Council Chamber was being renovated in 1667, the magistrate ordered lunette paintings from Johann Aken, which portrayed the familiar theme. Unlike the playful multiple meanings of medieval symbols, the message here is unambiguously moralistic. This change accompanied the Reformation, which reached Tallinn in the 1520s. While in medieval times the slaves of love were often depicted with a satirical undertone – both in relation to seducers, their victims, or social attitudes – the 17th century paintings in the Town Hall clearly express Lutheran morality. Their purpose is no longer a lesson of the charms of women and earthly love, but instead human weaknesses and how these can be taken advantage of. Unlike the medieval Christian philosophy, which treated sex as a means for generational continuity, the Lutheran philosophy did not deny female sexuality and regarded the pleasures of the flesh as healthy and even necessary for good marriage. At the same time, punishments for adultery, lust, and carousing were made stricter. The first pair of lunette paintings in the Council Chamber mainly disapproves of submission to the lusts of the flesh and the violation of marriage, and exhorted virtuous behaviour and restraining from passions. So that the message would be even clearer for the viewers, at the bottom of the paintings there are short moralizing verses in German (the German language was the language of record management in the town council of Tallinn until the end of the 19th century) – such messages, replacing the medieval symbols, were also a clear sign of the new era and the new religion. While under the rule of Lutheran Sweden from 1561, and expecting a visit by King Charles XI, the council tried to demonstrate its high morality and beliefs through themes used in the new interior design.
Herodias with the Head of John the Baptist
The painting on the left is based on the New Testament story “Death of John the Baptist”. Two subsequent scenes are depicted: in the left corner, we can see Herod´s birthday party and the dancing daughter of Herodias, and in the right corner, the executed John the Baptist and his head on the plate in Herodias´s hands. The latter was inspired by a painting by Rubens on the same theme.
The daughter of Herodias, who seduced the King at his birthday party with an erotic dance, does not have a name in the Bible. She is mentioned as Salome in a Jewish historiography published in the 1st century BC, and in the 19th century she became famous through the writings of such authors as Gustave Flaubert and Oscar Wilde. Salome became a symbol of the seductive and dangerous woman, while her mother Herodias was depicted as a cunning character, whose urge for revenge cost John the Baptist his life. This story warns men about their erotic desires and the fatal cunningness of women, which may lead to hasty promises and fatal consequences. A ruler or a councillor must be sober and virtuous in order to bear responsibility for his promises and decisions. John the Baptist´s condemnation of the violation of marriage committed by Herod and Herodias, which cost the prophet his life, also expresses the Lutheran disapproval of indulging in lust and exhorts repenting and virtue, as demonstrated by John the Baptist.
Death of John the Baptist
(Gospel of Mark 6 and Gospel of Matthew 14)
During the lifetime of John the Baptist (late 1st century BC), Israel was under Roman rule. John was the messenger of God, who proclaimed the coming of Christ and the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven. John the Baptist exhorted people to repent and christened them on the banks of the Jordan River (the word “christening” itself means “pouring over” from the Greek, i.e. pouring water over a person to cleanse him from sin and to help him to repent, and for purposes of religious conversion).
John also criticized Herod Antipas, the vice-regent of Galilee, condemning his co-habitation with his brother´s wife Herodias. In response, Herod ordered the imprisonment of John, but did not dare to execute the prophet in fear of the reaction of the people. However, Herodias, the unlawful wife of the ruler, was very angry at John and wanted him dead. She had the chance to accomplish her plan at the King´s birthday party, held by Herod. Herodias´s daughter was dancing for the King and for the guests, and the King was so fascinated with her dance that he promised the girl to fulfil all of her desires, let it be half the kingdom. Urged by her mother, the girl asked for John the Baptist´s head on a plate. Herod became very sad but realized that he could not break his promise given in front of numerous guests. He sent the executioner to prison and ordered him to cut off John the Baptist´s head.
Samson and Delilah
The poem below the painting named “Samson and Delilah” expresses its moral lesson:
“Even though Samson had beaten thousands of men before,
he could not resist the cunning of a woman.
You might ask: What was his fault? He should not
have spoken about what had to remain a secret. This is why there will be no sympathy for him.”
According to the poem, a man who has fallen victim to passion does not deserve sympathy.
In the bottom right corner, the collapse of the temple, i.e. the last heroic deed of Samson, is depicted; when his strength was revived after turning to God, he grabbed the columns supporting the temple and crushed them, dying together with thousands of Philistines.
The story of Samson and Delilah
(Old Testament, the Book of Judges 16)
Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman whose name was Delilah. The Philistines paid Delilah to seduce Samson and discover the secret of his strength. Samson managed to deceive Delilah and release himself from the ropes of the Philistines three times. But then Delilah said she no longer believed the love of a man who mocked her and did not open his heart to her. Finally, Samson gave up and revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah. Delilah drugged Samson and called the Philistines to cut his hair. When Samson woke up, he thought he would be able to release himself from the ropes like before, but this time he did not have strength to do so, because his power had disappeared with his hair.
Detail of a miniature from a manuscript of the Romane de la Rose, 1380, France. The British Library
Samson was imprisoned, but the Philistines decided not to kill and instead to humiliate him. They poked his eyes out and once when the Philistines were having a big celebration, they took him to the temple, where thousands of people gathered together. The hero asked God to give him strength one last time to take revenge on his offenders. He grabbed the columns which supported the temple and crushed them. The temple collapsed and buried Samson and his enemies. While dying, Samson killed more Philistines than when he was alive.
