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Saint John the Baptist Preaching

ca. 1650
Not on view
Saint John the Baptist is shown seated in the wilderness exhorting the viewer to repentance, his right hand pointing heavenwards, his skin tanned through years in the desert. The lamb stands for Christ, the "lamb of God."
One of the protagonists of Baroque painting, Preti worked in Rome, Modena, and Naples before moving to Malta, where he was elevated to knighthood and spent the rest of his career. The expressive intensity and boldly sculptural conception of the Saint John link it with Preti's frescoes in the church of S. Biagio in Modena, carried out in 1651–52; there are echoes of the most vigorous manner of Domenichino and Guercino.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint John the Baptist Preaching
  • Artist: Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese) (Italian, Taverna 1613–1699 Valletta)
  • Date: ca. 1650
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 68 x 47 3/4 in. (172.7 x 121.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Melissa O. Aronson, in memory of Thomas P. Miller, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.477
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Saint in Ecstasy, Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese) Italian, Pen and brown ink, washed, on brownish paper
Saint in Ecstasy
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
1613–99
Kneeling Woman, Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese) Italian, Red chalk on light brown paper
Kneeling Woman
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
17th century
Seated Bishop with Arms Extended and Three Attendant Figures (recto); Head of a Lion and Perspective Diagrams (verso), Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese) Italian, Red chalk, brush and red wash (recto); red chalk (verso), on beige paper
Seated Bishop with Arms Extended and Three Attendant Figures (recto); Head of a Lion and Perspective Diagrams (verso)
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
1613–99
A Group of Saints and Angels (recto); Studies of a Male Figure in a Pendentive (verso), Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese) Italian, Red chalk, brush and red wash (recto and verso)
A Group of Saints and Angels (recto); Studies of a Male Figure in a Pendentive (verso)
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
1613–99
Pilate Washing His Hands, Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese) Italian, Oil on canvas
Pilate Washing His Hands
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
1663

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