Online Pamono Florentine School Artist, St. John the Baptist, 1500-1600, Oil on Canvas

Saint John the Baptist

Oil on canvas (67 x 56 cm – Framed 98 x 83 cm)

By highlighting the sculptural figure of this young Saint John the Baptist, bathed in a powerful and enveloping light, our artist seems to have referenced directly from the Gospel of John, which outlines the Baptist’s role as a prophet and precursor of Jesus Christ:
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John…to bear witness to the light. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.” (John 1:6-8)

Conscious of this mission, the Saint is depicted bathed in a beam of light emanating from a rent in the clouds, wrapped in the traditional camel-hide garment and a bright red cloak. In one hand, he holds the traditional staff made from two reeds to form a crucifix, alluding to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

The work can be traced back to an artist active between the 16th and 17th centuries in Florence, where the figurative tradition has always devoted great space to this subject, patron saint of the city and protector of various guilds of arts and crafts.

Although his interpretation is highly personal, we can easily identify the models of derivation and, in particular, limit its provenance to the school of Andrea del Sarto (Florence 1486 – 1530), drawing the closest points of contact with the series of half-length portraits of Saints by the painter.

Among these is the portrait of the young John the Baptist by Andrea del Sarto, now at the Worcester Art Museum (Massachusetts), but above all, with regard to the rendering of the facial and body features, we can take as a comparison the Saint Sebastian, in particular the copy in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen in France (1).

(1) (Andrea del Sarto (follower) – Saint Sebastian Holding Two Arrows and the Palm of Martyrdom (detail) – Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen

In this last painting, we find the beautiful head of the boy, with his gaze fixed upward, and flowing curly hair, and his lean yet harmonious, almost ephebic nude, with that proud yet casual posture that evokes the impression of Raphael’s David.

Although it is not easy to identify the hand of a particular artist within the master’s prolific school, the painting in question occupies a prominent place for its noble Florentine craftsmanship, which is expressed in the confident drawing, the mastery of the anatomical structure, the plasticity of the figure, and the delicate vagueness of the saint’s expression, which make it a very interesting work.

INFORMATION ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Good condition, complete with gilded and lacquered frame.

The work is sold complete with a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic .