John the Baptist

John the Baptist, also called John in the Wilderness, was the subject of at least eight Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio artworks. The story of John the Baptist is told in the Gospels.

History

John the Baptist lived in the Wilderness of Judea between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He baptized Jesus in the Jordan and was eventually killed by Herod Antipas when he called on the king to correct his evil ways. John was often depicted in Christian art; he can be recognized by his bowl, reed cross, camel skin, and lamb. The most famous scene before the Counter-Reformation was the baptism of John by Jesus, or the baptism of infants with the infant Jesus and Mary, his mother. John was invariably a boy or a young man alone in the desert for the young Caravaggio.

In addition to these works representing John alone, mostly dated to his early years, the artist executed three narrative scenes of John’s death: the excellent Execution in Malta, two somber Salomes with his head, one in Madrid, and another one in London. Moreover, the most famous versions of the artist’s works are in the Capitoline Museums (Museo Capitolino), and a copy of this is in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj in Rome.

Analysis

St John the Baptist was one of Caravaggio’s favorite subjects. John the Baptist is depicted in this painting as younger than in other artworks. It is one of Caravaggio’s late works datable to 1610. The subject has a simple pose and thoughtful gaze, and it would appear to be the portrait of a shepherd boy at rest with the striking red drapery on the side.

In the painting, John the Baptist is shown as a boy slumped against a dark background, and a sheep nibbles at a dull brown vine. Since the Renaissance, he has often been portrayed not as a mature man but as a young boy. In the painting, he is sitting lost in thought. His appearance is filled with sadness, and this feeling is not dispelled by the warm light that floods the figure or the red drape. Caravaggio began with light and happy moods, created works full of passion and drama, and finally came to a painting filled with a tragic sense of being, which he made at the end of his short life. The artist’s work reflected his life path.

The Artwork

The canvas was created with one of Caravaggio’s last works, St John and a Magdalen. It was part of the baggage the artist brought with him to Rome as a gift for Scipione Borghese in exchange for a papal pardon. In 1613, the artwork was already in the collection, as mentioned in the poem by Scipione Francucci d’Imola. The canvas first appeared in the inventory of 1693 with an attribution to Caravaggio. From the inventory of 1790 to the fidei-commissum of 1833, the painting was assigned to the French painter Valentin de Boulogne.

Author: Caravaggio

Caravaggio (1571-1610), or Michelangelo Merisi, was an Italian painter considered one of the leading influencers of modern painting. His artworks combine a realistic perception of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a developmental impact on Baroque painting. Caravaggio utilized close physical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro, known as tenebrism. In addition, he made the method of a dominant stylistic element, obscuring shadows and transfixing subjects in bright shafts of light.

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