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The Youthful Saint John the Baptist

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The Youthful Saint John the Baptist

Domenico Pieratti  (Italian, 1600–1656)

Date:
ca. 1625–30
Culture:
Italian, Florence
Medium:
Marble
Dimensions:
Overall (confirmed): 28 × 17 1/2 × 13 1/4 in., 138lb. (71.1 × 44.5 × 33.7 cm, 62.5964kg)
Classification:
Sculpture
Credit Line:
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Fund, 2006
Accession Number:
2006.70

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 549

  • Description

    As their patron saint, John the Baptist was a prominent fixture in the homes of civic-minded Florentines. This large, lyric statuette by Pieratti, the city's first important Baroque sculptor, shows exacting yet expansive compositional experimentation. A masterly study in frozen motion, it evinces discerning responses to lessons learned from great masters. The virile type, an artfully unkempt boy of the people, is Michelangelesque, with a nod to the head of David. From Caravaggio comes the adjustment of limbs in angles to maximize contrasts of light and shadow. Strikingly Caravaggesque is the youth's arm hooked over his chest, holding a honeycomb (referring to the Baptist's wilderness diet). His other hand holds the remnants of his shepherd's crook and a scroll which undoubtedly announced Ecce agnus dei (behold the lamb of God) in deference to his cousin Jesus. The surface is abraded: the work stood in a garden around a hundred years ago, but mercifully briefly, not long enough to diminish its authority and charm.

  • Provenance

    By 1677 in the salotto of Casa de' Tempi, Florence; Palazzo Bargagli Petrucci, Florence, until at least 1910Marchese Tempi , Casa de' Tempi, Florence (by 1677) ; Bargagli family , Palazzo Bargagli Petrucci, Florence (until at least 1910) ; [ art market , Florence ] ; [ Thomas Howard-Sneyd , London (by 1982) ] ; [ sale, Sotheby's, London , December 9, 2005, no. 114; not sold ] ; [ sold by private arrangement through Sotheby's, London (early 2006; to MMA) ]

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    In the Museum
    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
    MetPublications
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