James, son of Zebedee James, son of Zebedee James, son of Zebedee (Hebrew: , "Yaʿqob"; Greek: Ἰάκωβος; ; died 44 AD) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, traditionally considered the first apostle to be martyred. The son of Zebedee and Salome is James, styled "the Greater", to distinguish him from the Apostle James "the Less", with greater meaning older or taller, rather than more important. He was the brother of John the beloved disciple. James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Caravaggio, London) a different painting of the same subject (see "Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Madrid)"). The handling and the raking light link this painting to works done in Naples during the artist's brief stay in the city during 1606–1607, an impression confirmed by the blances between Salome and the Virgin in the "Madonna of the Rosary", and between the executioner holding the head of the Baptist and one of the two torturers in "Christ at the Column" and "The Flagellation of Christ". From November to February 2012–2013 this painting was part of the exhibition "Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio