St John the Baptist in the Desert (Caravaggio)
| John the Baptist (John in the Wilderness) | |
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| Italian: San Giovanni Battista | |
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| Artist | Caravaggio (disputed) |
| Year | c. 1598 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 169 cm × 112 cm (67 in × 44 in) |
| Location | Museo Tesoro Catedralicio, Toledo |
| John the Baptist (Youth with a Ram) | |
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_-_Saint_John_the_Baptist_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) |
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| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | 1602 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 129 cm × 94 cm (51 in × 37 in) |
| Location | Musei Capitolini, Rome |
| John the Baptist (John in the Wilderness) | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | c. 1604 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 173 cm × 133 cm (68 in × 52 in) |
| Location | Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City |
| John the Baptist (John in the Wilderness) | |
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| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | c. 1604 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 94 cm × 131 cm (37 in × 52 in) |
| Location | Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome |
| John the Baptist (John the Baptist at the Fountain) |
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| Artist | Caravaggio (disputed) |
| Year | c. 1608 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 100 cm × 73 cm (39 in × 29 in) |
| Location | private collection |
| John the Baptist (John in the Wilderness) | |
|---|---|
-Caravaggio_(1610).jpg) |
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| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | c. 1610 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 159 cm × 124 cm (63 in × 49 in) |
| Location | Galleria Borghese, Rome |
| John the Baptist (Reclining Baptist) | |
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| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | 1610 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 106 cm × 179.5 cm (42 in × 70.7 in) |
| Location | Private collection |
John the Baptist (sometimes called John in the Wilderness) was the subject of at least eight paintings by the Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610).
The story of John the Baptist is told in the Gospels. John was the cousin of Jesus, and his calling was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. He lived in the wilderness of Judea between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, "his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey." He baptised Jesus in the Jordan, and was eventually killed by Herod Antipas when he called upon the king to reform his evil ways. John was frequently shown in Christian art, identifiable by his bowl, reed cross, camel's skin and lamb. The most popular scene prior to the Counter-Reformation was of John's baptism of Jesus, or else the infant Baptist together with the infant Jesus and Mary his mother, frequently supplemented by the Baptist's own mother St Elizabeth. John alone in the desert was less popular, but not unknown. For the young Caravaggio, John was invariably a boy or youth alone in the wilderness. This image was based on the statement in the Gospel of Luke that "the child grew and was strengthened in spirit, and was in the deserts until the day of his manifestation to Israel." These works allowed a religious treatment of the partly clothed youths he liked to paint at this period.
Apart from these works showing John alone, mostly dated to his early years, Caravaggio painted three great narrative scenes of John's death: the great Execution in Malta, and two sombre Salomes with his head, one in Madrid, and one in London.
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Wikipedia