Saint John the Baptist (El Greco)

Painting by El Greco

Saint John the Baptist

Artist| El Greco
Year| 1597–1607
Medium| oil on canvas
Dimensions| 111 cm × 66 cm (44 in × 26 in)
Location| Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco

Saint John the Baptist is an oil on canvas painting executed between 1597 and 1607 by the Greek artist El Greco whilst living in Spain. It is in the collection of the Legion of Honor museum, a component part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.[1]

The painting depicts a young Saint John, dressed in animal skins, holding a long staff with a cross-shaped top. Beside him sleeps a lamb on a rock, representing the "Agnus Dei" (Lamb of God i.e. Jesus Christ), whose coming he prophesied. The work is autographed in cursive Greek script on a rock to his left. The clouds about his head resemble a halo. In the distance can be made out the monastery of El Escorial.

The work was once held by the Convento de San José in Malagón, Ciudad Real before passing via several private collections to the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, part of the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts, in 1946. The Young collection was transferred in 1972 to the Legion of Honor.

Saint John the Baptist, 1600–1605, Valencia

Another version of the painting (see left), differing in that some of the nearby rocks and distant background are absent, exists in the collection of the Museu de Belles Arts de València, Valencia, Spain.

## See also

[edit]

* List of works by El Greco

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "St. John the Baptist". Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. 8 May 2015.

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El Greco

* List of works
* Artistic overview
* Posthumous fame

Paintings|

* Adoration of the Magi (c. 1565–1567)
* Dormition of the Virgin (1565–1566)
* Healing of the Man Born Blind
* Dresden, 1567
* Parma, c. 1573
* Modena Triptych (1567–1569)
* Baptism of Christ (1567–1569)
* Last Supper (1568)
* Flight into Egypt (1570)
* Annunciation
* Prado, 1570
* Madrid, 1575–1576
* Illescas, 1600–1605
* Purification of the Temple
* Washington, 1570
* Minneapolis, 1570
* New York, 1595–1600
* London, 1600
* Madrid, 1609
* The Fable (1570–1575)
* Entombment of Christ (1570–1576)
* El Soplón (1571–1572)
* Pietà (1571–1576)
* Penitent Magdalene (1576–1578)
* Saint Sebastian (1576–1579)
* Santo Domingo el Antiguo Altarpiece (1577)
* Saint Lawrence's Vision of the Madonna and Child (1577)
* Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus (1577–1579)
* Assumption of the Virgin (1577–1579)
* Disrobing of Christ (El Expolio) (1577–1579)
* Holy Trinity (c. 1577–1579)
* Saint Anthony of Padua (1580)
* Christ Carrying the Cross
* New York, c. 1580
* Barcelona, 1590–1595
* Madrid, 1597–1600
* The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice (1580–1582)
* The Tears of Saint Peter
* Barnard Castle, 1580–1589
* Mexico City, 1587–1596
* Oslo, c. 1590
* The Immaculate Conception with Saint John the Evangelist (c. 1585)
* The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586)
* Holy Family (1586–1588)
* Holy Face of Jesus (1586–1595)
* Saint Peter and Saint Paul
* Barcelona, 1587–1592
* Saint Petersburg, c. 1587–1592
* Agony in the Garden
* London, 1590
* Andújar, 1597–1607
* Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors (c. 1590)
* The Penitent Saint Peter (c. 1590–1595)
* Saint Louis (1592–1595)
* Virgin Mary (Mater Dolorosa) (c. 1594–1604)
* Holy Family (c. 1595)
* Christ Taking Leave of his Mother (1595)
* Saint Andrew and Saint Francis (1595–1598)
* Adoration of the Shepherds
* Bucharest, 1596
* Madrid, 1612–1614
* Doña María de Aragón Altarpiece (1596–1599)
* View of Toledo (1596–1600)
* Virgin Mary (1597)
* Saint Martin and the Beggar (1597–1599)
* The Virgin of Charity (1597–1603)
* Allegory of the Camaldolese Order (c. 1597)
* Saint John the Baptist (1597–1607)
* Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Francis (c. 1600)
* Saint Bernardino of Siena (1603)
* Nativity (1603–1605)
* Coronation of the Virgin (1603–1605)
* Marriage of the Virgin (1603–1607)
* Saint John the Evangelist (c. 1605)
* The Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Hyacinth (c. 1605–1610)
* The Immaculate Conception (1607–1613)
* Saint Peter (1608)
* View and Plan of Toledo (1608)
* Concert of Angels (1608)
* The Saviour (1608–1614)
* Saint Thomas the Apostle (1608–1614)
* Opening of the Fifth Seal (1608–1614)
* Saint Jerome (1609)
* Saint Ildefonsus (1609)
* Saint Francis and Brother Leo (1609)
* Saint James the Great (1610)
* Saint Luke (1610–1614)
* Laocoön (1610–1614)
* Saint Paul (1610–1614)
* Saint Sebastian (1610–1614)
* Julián Romero and Saint Julian (1612–1614)

Portraits|

* Portrait of Giulio Clovio (c. 1571)
* Portrait of Vincenzo Anastagi (1571–1576)
* The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest (c. 1580)
* Portrait of a Doctor (1582–1585)
* Portrait of a Gentleman (c. 1586)
* Portrait of Rodrigo Vázquez de Arce (c. 1587–1597; lost, known from a copy)
* Portrait of an Elderly Man (1587–1600)
* Portrait of Antonio de Covarrubias (1595–1600)
* Self-Portrait (1595–1600)
* Portrait of Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli (c. 1597–1603)
* Portrait of a Young Nobleman (1600–1605)
* Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (c. 1600)
* Portrait of an Unknown Gentleman (1603–1607)
* Portrait of Fray Hortensio Félix Paravacino (1609)
* Portrait of Juan Pardo de Tavera (1609)
* Portrait of Jerónimo de Cevallos (1609–1613)
* Portrait of Francisco de Pisa (1610–1614)

Museums|

* El Greco Museum, Toledo
* Museum of El Greco, Crete

Related|

* Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli (son)
* Lady in Ermine (1947 film)
* El Greco (1966 film)
* El Greco (1998 album)
* El Greco (2007 film)
* El Greco fallacy

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