Saint John the Baptist (Leonardo)

Painting by Leonardo da Vinci

Saint John the Baptist

Artist| Leonardo da Vinci
Year| 1513–1516
Medium| Oil on walnut wood
Dimensions| 69 cm × 57 cm (27.16 in × 22.44 in)
Location| Louvre, Paris

Saint John the Baptist is a High Renaissance oil painting on walnut wood by Leonardo da Vinci. Likely to have been completed between 1513 and 1516, it is believed to be his final painting. Its original size was 69 by 57 centimetres (27 in × 22 in).

The painting is in the permanent collection of the Louvre. In November 2022, it was loaned to Louvre Abu Dhabi for two years as part of the museum's fifth anniversary.[1]

## Subject matter

[edit]

The work depicts the figure of John the Baptist in isolation through the use of chiaroscuro, with the figure appearing to emerge from the shadowy background. The saint is dressed in furs, has long curly hair and is smiling in an enigmatic manner reminiscent of Leonardo's famous Mona Lisa. He holds a reed cross in his left hand, while his right hand points up toward heaven, similar to the figure of Saint Anne in Leonardo's Burlington House Cartoon. According to Frank Zöllner, Leonardo's use of sfumato "conveys the religious content of the picture", with the "gentle shadows [imbuing] the subject's skin tones with a very soft, delicate appearance, almost androgynous in its effect".[2]

Kenneth Clark claimed that for Leonardo, Saint John represented "the eternal question mark, the enigma of creation", and noted the sense of "uneasiness" that the painting imbues.[3] Barolsky adds that: "Describing Saint John emerging from the darkness in almost shockingly immediate relation to the beholder, Leonardo magnifies the very ambiguity between spirit and flesh. The grace of Leonardo's figure, which has a disturbingly erotic charge, nonetheless conveys a spiritual meaning to which Saint John refers when he speaks of the fullness of grace from God."[4]

The model for the John the Baptist / Bacchus / Angelo incarnato series was Salaì.[5]

## Dating

[edit]

The dating of Saint John the Baptist is disputed.[6] It was seen by Antonio de Beatis in Leonardo's workshop at Clos Lucé;[7] his diary entry giving a terminus ante quem of 17 October 1517.

Traditionally, the painting has been considered the artist's last, and has been dated to 1513–1516; Leonardo's sfumato technique here being considered to have reached its apogee.[6] Some experts, however, have compared the hand of Saint John to a similar work by a pupil in the Codex Atlanticus, dating the commencement of the picture to around 1509.[6] The pose is also similar to that of a sculpture of the same subject completed after 1510 for the Florence Baptistery by Giovanni Francesco Rustici.[8] Leonardo is thought to have given Rustici technical advice for his commission; it is possible that one artist could have influenced the other with the idea for the pose.[9]

## Provenance

[edit]

Saint John the Baptist was apparently part of the French king Francis I's collection at Fontainebleau in 1542. In 1625, King Charles I of England received the painting from Louis XIII of France in return for a Titian – the Holy Family – and Hans Holbein's Portrait of Erasmus.[6] In 1649, Charles's collection was sold, whereupon the painting entered into the hands of the banker Eberhard Jabach.[6] After a spell in the possession of Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661 the work once again returned to the King of France – Louis XIV. Following the French Revolution, the painting entered the collection at the Louvre, where it remains to this day.[6]

## Influence

[edit]

Prior to this work, Saint John had traditionally been portrayed as a gaunt ascetic. Leonardo's innovative depiction proved influential upon Raphael's workshop; several portraits of Saint John painted around 1517–1518 attributed to Raphael and Giulio Romano show a similarly youthful saint in isolation, with a strong contrast between the dark background and the illumination of the figure.[10]

Also numerous copies and variations of Saint John the Baptist made by Leonardeschi exist.

* John the Baptist – Salaì

* Angelo Incarnato, drawing of Salaì by Leonardo, from a folio of Leonardo's, c. 1515[11]

* Angel of Annunciation – Bernardino Luini

* Saint John – Giampietrino

## See also

[edit]

* List of works by Leonardo da Vinci

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Louvre Abu Dhabi welcomes arrival of Leonardo da Vinci". The National. 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
2. ^ Zöllner, Frank (2000). Leonardo Da Vinci, 1452–1519. ISBN 9783822859797.
3. ^ Barolsky, Paul (1999). Leonardo Da Vinci, Selected Scholarship: Leonardo's projects, c. 1500–1519. p. 391\. ISBN 9780815329350.
4. ^ Barolsky, Paul. Leonardo Da Vinci, Selected Scholarship: Leonardo's projects, c. 1500–1519. p. 394.
5. ^ Pedretti, Carlo (2009). Leonardo da Vinci : l'Angelo incarnato & Salai = the Angel in the flesh & Salai. Margherita Melani, Daniel Arasse, da Vinci Leonardo. Foligno (Perugia): Cartei & Bianchi. p. 201\. ISBN 978-88-95686-11-0. OCLC 500794484.
6. ^ a b c d e f Frank Zöllner. Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Paintings. p. 248.
7. ^ Farago, Claire J. (1999). Biography and Early Art Criticism of Leonardo Da Vinci. p. 66\. ISBN 9780815329336.
8. ^ Decker, Heinrich (1969) [1967]. The Renaissance in Italy: Architecture • Sculpture • Frescoes. New York: The Viking Press. p. 26.
9. ^ Wallace, Robert (1972) [1966]. The World of Leonardo: 1452–1519. New York: Time-Life Books. p. 147.
10. ^ Zöllner, Frank (2000). Leonardo Da Vinci, 1452–1519. p. 199\. ISBN 9783822859797.
11. ^ Pedretti, Carlo (2009). Leonardo da Vinci : l'Angelo incarnato & Salai = the Angel in the flesh & Salai. Margherita Melani, Daniel Arasse, da Vinci Leonardo. Foligno (Perugia): Cartei & Bianchi. pp. 9, 11, 13, 201. ISBN 978-88-95686-11-0. OCLC 500794484.

## External links

[edit]

* Interactive online application by the C2RMF for the exhibition "Leonardo da Vinci's Saint John the Baptist in Milan", organized by the Louvre Museum, Milan City Council and sponsored by Eni, featuring zoomable high resolution scientific imagery (color, IR, X-ray, UV etc.) and commentary on the painting. The viewer is based on IIPImage.
* Leonardo da Vinci: anatomical drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Saint John the Baptist (see index)
* Lairweb.org.nz John the Baptist
* The Tricks of Leonardo da Vinci & Hieronymus Bosch. Xavier d'Hérouville & Aurore Caulier. December 2023. HAL Open Science

* v
* t
* e

Leonardo da Vinci

* List of works
* Science and inventions
* Personal life

Paintings|

* The Annunciation
* The Baptism of Christ ✻
* The Madonna of the Carnation
* Ginevra de' Benci
* Benois Madonna
* The Adoration of the Magi
* Saint Jerome in the Wilderness
* Madonna Litta ✻
* Virgin of the Rocks
* Portrait of a Musician ✻✻
* Lady with an Ermine
* La Belle Ferronnière
* The Last Supper
* Sala delle Asse
* Buccleuch Madonna ✻
* Salvator Mundi ✻✻
* Lansdowne Madonna ✻
* The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
* Mona Lisa
* La Scapigliata
* Saint John the Baptist

| Lost paintings|

* Medusa
* Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
* The Holy Infants Embracing
* The Battle of Anghiari
* Leda and the Swan

|

Sculptures|

* Budapest Horse
* Horse and Rider
* Sforza Horse (unexecuted)

Works on paper|

* Study for the Madonna of the Cat
* Head of a Bear
* The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian
* Vitruvian Man
* Portrait of Isabella d'Este
* Studies of the Fetus in the Womb
* Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk

| Studies for the Virgin of the Rocks|

* Designs for an Adoration of the Christ Child
* Head of the Angel
* Head of the Infant Saint John the Baptist

|

Studies for the Last Supper|

* Head of Christ

Relating to the Virgin and
Child with Saint Anne|

* The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist (London cartoon)
* Second cartoon (lost)
* Christ Child
* Drapery of the Virgin's Legs
* Drapery of the Virgin's Right Arm
* Head of Saint Anne
* Head of the Virgin

Manuscripts|

* Codex Atlanticus
* Codex Windsor
* Codex Arundel
* Codex Trivulzianus
* Codex Madrid
* Codex on the Flight of Birds
* Codex Leicester
* A Treatise on Painting

Other projects|

* Architonnerre
* Divina proportione (illustrations)
* Great Kite
* Harpsichord-viola
* Aerial screw
* Crossbow
* Fighting vehicle
* Robot
* Self-propelled cart
* Octant projection
* Rapid fire crossbow
* Sonar
* Viola organista
* World Map

Leonardeschi|

* Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio
* Cesare da Sesto
* Bernardino de' Conti
* Giampietrino
* Giovanni Agostino da Lodi
* Bernardino Luini
* Cesare Magni
* Marco d'Oggiono
* Francesco Melzi
* Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis
* Salaì
* Andrea Solari

Museums|

* Museo leonardiano di Vinci
* Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci
* Leonardo3 Museum
* Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci (Milan)

Related|

* Cultural references
* Namesakes
* Portraits of Leonardo
* Conservation-restoration of The Last Supper
* Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations
* Clos Lucé
* High Renaissance
* Mathematics and art
* The Lost Leonardo
* Leda and the Swan (Galleria Borghese)

* ✻ Collaboration
* ✻✻ Possible collaboration

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Louvre Museum

Building

* Louvre Colonnade
* Lescot Wing
* Pavillon de Flore
* Pavillon de l'Horloge
* Louvre Pyramid
* Pyramide inversée
* Cour Carrée
* Medieval Louvre

Antiquities

| Near East
and Middle East|

* ʿAin Ghazal statue
* Amarna letter EA 362
* Amarna letter EA 364
* Amarna letter EA 365
* Amarna letter EA 367
* Assyrian lion weights
* Baal with Thunderbolt
* Bushel with ibex motifs
* Cippi of Melqart
* Code of Hammurabi
* Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II
* Gudea cylinders
* Hurrian foundation pegs
* Investiture of Zimri-Lim
* Lament for Ur
* Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina I by Meli-Shipak II
* Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru
* Lion of Mari
* Manishtushu Obelisk
* Masub inscription
* Mesha Stele
* Namara inscription
* Narundi
* Nazareth Inscription
* Nazimaruttaš kudurru stone
* Neirab steles
* Osorkon Bust
* Phoenician metal bowls
* Quintus Marcius trilingual inscription
* Sidon Mithraeum
* Statue of Iddi-Ilum
* Statue of Ebih-Il
* Stele of the Vultures
* Stele of Zakkur
* Tayma stones
* Tiara of Saitaferne
* Vase of Entemena
* Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
* Worshipper of Larsa
* Yehawmilk Stele
* Ziwiye hoard

|

Ancient Egypt|

* Gebel el-Arak Knife
* The Seated Scribe
* Banishment Stela
* Bentresh stela
* Bronze Sphinx of Thutmose III
* Cosmetic Spoon: Young Girl Swimming
* Dendera zodiac
* Great Sphinx of Tanis
* Khonsuemheb and the Ghost
* Raherka and Meresankh
* Stela of Pasenhor
* Tomb of Akhethetep
* Bull Palette
* Hunters Palette
* Statue of Karomama

Greece and Rome,
Etruscan|

* Albani lion
* Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus
* Antinous Mondragone
* Antioch mosaics
* Apollo Belvedere
* Apollo of Mantua
* Apollo of Piombino
* Apollo Sauroktonos
* Ares Borghese
* Athena of Velletri
* Barberini ivory
* Borghese Collection
* Borghese Gladiator
* Borghese Vase
* Borghese Venus
* Boscoreale Treasure
* Cupid and Psyche
* Diana of Gabii
* Diana of Versailles
* Dinos of the Gorgon Painter
* Dying Gaul
* Eurytios Krater
* Furietti Centaurs
* Gladiator Mosaic
* Hera Borghese
* Hercules and the lion of Nemea
* Judgement of Paris (mosaic)
* Lady of Auxerre
* Las Incantadas
* Marcellus as Hermes Logios
* Nazareth Inscription
* Rampin Rider
* Sarcophagus of the Spouses
* Sleeping Ariadne
* Sleeping Hermaphroditus
* Statue of the Tiber river with Romulus and Remus
* The Exaltation of the Flower
* Venus and Mars
* Venus de Milo
* Venus Genetrix
* Venus of Arles
* Winged Lion of Vulci
* Winged Victory of Samothrace

Byzantine|

* Harbaville Triptych
* Lampsacus Treasure

Paintings

| French|

* Anonymous: Diana the Huntress; Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses sœurs
* Benoist: Portrait of Madeleine
* Boilly: Artists in Isabey's Studio
* Boucher: The Brunette Odalisque; Diana Bathing; Vulcan Presenting Venus with Arms for Aeneas
* Champaigne Ex-Voto de 1662; Louis XIII Crowned by Victory
* Chardin: The Attributes of Civilian and Military Music; The Attributes of Music, the Arts and the Sciences; Boy with a Spinning-Top; The Buffet; The Ray; Saying Grace
* Chassériau: Aline Chassériau; Self-Portrait; The Toilette of Esther; The Two Sisters
* Claude: Village Fête
* Corot: The Bridge at Narni; Souvenir de Mortefontaine
* David: Andromache Mourning Hector; The Coronation of Napoleon; The Intervention of the Sabine Women; Leonidas at Thermopylae; The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons; The Loves of Paris and Helen; Minerva Fighting Mars; Oath of the Horatii; Portrait of Madame Marie-Louise Trudaine; Portrait of Madame Récamier; Portrait of Pope Pius VII; Self-Portrait
* Delacroix: The Barque of Dante; The Bride of Abydos; The Death of Sardanapalus; Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople; Liberty Leading the People; Lion Devouring a Rabbit; Mademoiselle Rose; The Massacre at Chios; The Murder of the Bishop of Liège; Orphan Girl at the Cemetery; Portrait of Frédéric Chopin; The Picador; Women of Algiers; A Young Tiger Playing with Its Mother
* Delaroche: Bonaparte Crossing the Alps; The Children of Edward; The Young Martyr
* Flandrin: Study (Young Male Nude Seated Beside the Sea)
* Fragonard:  Adoration of the Shepherds; Coresus Sacrificing Himself to Save Callirhoe; The Bolt
* Géricault: The 1821 Derby at Epsom; The Charging Chasseur; The Raft of the Medusa; The Woman with a Gambling Mania; The Wounded Cuirassier
* Girodet: The Burial of Atala; Pygmalion and Galatea; Scene from a Deluge
* Greuze: The Bible Reading; The Broken Vessel; The Father's Curse; The Village Bride
* Gros: Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole; Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa; Equestrian Portrait of Joachim Murat, King of Naples; Napoléon on the Battlefield of Eylau
* Guérin: Andromache and Pyrrhus; Portrait of a Young Girl; The Return of Marcus Sextus
* Huet: The Flood of Saint-Cloud; Normandy Thatched Cottage, Old Trouville
* Ingres: The Apotheosis of Homer; Don Pedro of Toledo Kissing Henry IV's Sword; Grande Odalisque; Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII; Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière; Oedipus and the Sphinx; Portrait of Madame Marcotte de Sainte-Marie; Portrait of Monsieur Bertin; Roger Freeing Angelica; The Turkish Bath; The Valpinçon Bather
* La Tour: The Adoration of the Shepherds; The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds; Joseph the Carpenter; Magdalene with the Smoking Flame; Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene
* Philippe de Champaigne: Ex-Voto de 1662
* Poussin: Camillus Handing the Falerian Schoolmaster over to his Pupils; Et in Arcadia ego; The Four Seasons; The Funeral of Phocion; The Inspiration of the Poet; Landscape with Orpheus and Eurydice
* Quarton: Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
* Robert: Principal Monuments of France; Project for the Transformation of the Grande Galerie du Louvre
* Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil
* Vernet C.: A Mediterranean Port
* Vernet H.  Raphael at the Vatican
* Vigée Le Brun: Peace Bringing Back Abundance; Portrait of Joseph Vernet; Self-Portrait with Julie (Self-Portrait à la Grecque); Self-Portrait with Julie (Maternal Tenderness)
* Vouet: Allegory of Wealth; Hesselin Madonna
* Watteau: The Embarkation for Cythera; The Faux Pas; L'Indifférent; Jupiter and Antiope; Pierrot; The Two Cousins

|

Italian|

* Fra Angelico: Coronation of the Virgin
* Antonello da Messina: Christ at the Column
* Arcimboldo: The Four Seasons
* Bellini: Christ Blessing; Madonna and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Sebastian; Portrait of a Young Man
* Botticelli: Three Scenes from the Life of Esther; Venus and the Three Graces Presenting Gifts to a Young Woman; A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts
* Caravaggio: Death of the Virgin; The Fortune Teller; Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page
* Carpaccio: The Sermon of St. Stephen
* Carracci: Fishing; Hunting
* Cimabue: Maestà
* Correggio: Allegory of Vice; Allegory of Virtue; Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine; Venus and Cupid with a Satyr
* Costa: Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation; Reign of Comus
* Ghirlandaio: An Old Man and his Grandson; Visitation
* Giordano: Adoration of the Shepherds; Marriage of the Virgin
* Giotto: Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata
* Guardi: The Doge on the Bucintoro near the Riva di Sant'Elena
* Leonardo: Bacchus; La belle ferronnière; Mona Lisa; Saint John the Baptist; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne; Virgin of the Rocks
* Lippi: Barbadori Altarpiece; The Healing of Justinian the Canon; Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata
* Lotto: Christ Carrying the Cross; Holy Family with the Family of St John the Baptist; Saint Jerome in Penitence
* Mantegna: Crucifixion; Judgement of Solomon; Madonna della Vittoria; Parnassus; Saint Sebastian; Triumph of the Virtues
* Martini: The Carrying of the Cross
* Moretto: Saints Bonaventure and Anthony of Padua; Saints Bernardino of Siena and Louis of Toulouse
* Palmezzano: Dead Christ
* Panini: Ancient Rome
* Parmigianino: Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine
* Perugino: Apollo and Daphnis; The Battle Between Love and Chastity; Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist and St Catherine of Alexandria; Madonna and Child with St Rose and St Catherine (with Ingegno); St Sebastian; Young Saint with a Sword
* Piero della Francesca: Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta
* Pisanello: Portrait of a Princess
* Pittoni: The Continence of Scipio; Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter
* Raphael: Angel Holding a Phylactery; La belle jardinière; Holy Family of Francis I; Madonna with the Blue Diadem (with Penni); Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione; Saint George; Saint Michael; Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan; Self-Portrait with a Friend; Small Holy Family
* Reni: The Abduction of Helen; Annunciation
* Romano: Portrait of Doña Isabel de Requesens y Enríquez de Cardona-Anglesola (with Raphael)
* Salviati: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
* Savoldo: Portrait of a Clad Warrior
* Signorelli: Adoration of the Magi; Birth of John the Baptist
* Tintoretto: Self Portrait
* Titian: Allegory of Marriage; The Crowning with Thorns; The Entombment of Christ; Madonna of the Rabbit; Man with a Glove; Pardo Venus; Pastoral Concert (also attributed to Giorgione); Pilgrims at Emmaus; Saint Jerome in Penitence; Virgin and Child with Saints Stephen, Jerome and Maurice; Woman with a Mirror
* Tura: Pietà with Saints
* Uccello: The Battle of San Romano
* Veronese: The Wedding at Cana

Northern|

* Bosch: Ship of Fools
* Bruegel: The Beggars
* Christus: Lamentation (Pietà)
* David: Cervara Altarpiece; Triptych of the Sedano family
* Dürer: Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle
* van Dyck: Charles I at the Hunt; Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, St John and St Mary Magdalene; Madonna and Child with Two Donors
* van Eyck: Madonna of Chancellor Rolin
* Friedrich: The Tree of Crows; Seaside by Moonlight
* Hals: Catharina Both-van der Eem; The Gypsy Girl; The Lute Player
* Holbein: Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam; Portrait of Nicolaus Kratzer
* de Hooch: Card Players in a Rich Interior
* Jordaens: The Four Evangelists
* Matsys: The Money Changer and His Wife
* Memling: Diptych of an elderly couple
* Metsu: The Vegetable Market in Amsterdam
* van Ostade: The Fish Market
* Rembrandt: The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family; Bathsheba at Her Bath; Landscape with a Castle; Pendant portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit; Philosopher in Meditation; Saint Matthew and the Angel; Self-Portrait; Slaughtered Ox
* Rubens: Helena Fourment with a Carriage; Helena Fourment with Children; Hercules and Omphale; Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce; Marie de' Medici cycle; The Village Fête; The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents
* Ruisdael: Dune Landscape near Haarlem; The Ray of Light; Storm Off a Sea Coast
* Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil
* Vermeer: The Astronomer; The Lacemaker
* van der Weyden: Annunciation Triptych; Braque Triptych
* Wtewael: Perseus Freeing Andromeda

Spanish|

* El Greco: Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors; Portrait of Antonio de Covarrubias; Saint Louis
* Goya: Portrait of Ferdinand Guillemardet; Portrait of the Marquise de la Solana; Still Life of a Lamb's Head and Flanks
* Murillo: The Birth of the Virgin; The Young Beggar
* Ribera: The Clubfoot
* Zurbarán: Displaying the Body of Saint Bonaventure; Saint Apollonia

English|

* Bonington: Francis I, Charles V and the Duchess of Étampes
* Lewis: Street Scene near the El Ghouri Mosque in Cairo

American|

* Leutze: Christopher Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

Other|

* Joconde
* Bildindex
* 2
* 3

*[c.]: circa
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template