Saint John the Baptist

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A saint dressed in an animal skin stands on a marble plinth, holding a cross and a scroll. This is John the Baptist, the biblical hermit saint.John was usually shown in a camel-hair shirt with long hair and a beard, alluding to the years he spent in the desert, punishing his body with uncomfortable clothes and poor food to bring himself closer to God. On his scroll you can see parts of the Latin phrase 'Ecce Agnus Dei' ('Behold the Lamb of God') with which he identified Christ as the Messiah.This panel formed part of the lower tier of a large polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece). It was painted between about 1456 and 1461 by Giorgio Schiavone for the funerary chapel of the wealthy Roberti family in the church of San Nicolò in Padua.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Saint John the Baptist

Date

probably 1456-61

Medium

Tempera on wood

Measurements

H 72 x W 25.5 cm

Accession number

NG630.5

Acquisition method

Bought, 1860

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

View venue