Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Saint John the Evangelist

ca. 1480
Not on view
According to the Golden Legend, the idolatrous priest Aristodemus challenged John the
Evangelist:
“I will give you poison to drink. If it does you no harm, it will be clear that
your master is the true God.’...The apostle took the cup, armed himself with the sign of
the cross, drained the drink, and suffered no harm; and all present began to praise God.”
Christ’s favorite disciple is seated here in a Gothic chair, his right hand blessing the cup of poison. The drawing presents a figure type found in paintings of the Upper Rhine. Trimmed to form a rectangle, the originally round sheet was probably used as a design for a stained glass roundel.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint John the Evangelist
  • Artist: Upper Rhine (Switzerland)
  • Date: ca. 1480
  • Culture: Upper Rhine (Switzerland)
  • Medium: Pen and blackish brown ink and gray wash over a black chalk underdrawing (still partially visible in the foliate forms of the throne at the upper right), the thin, pale lines of the preliminary ink drawing clearly distinguishable from the thicker, darker ones on top of them, which have dense, felt-like accumulations of tiny strokes in some of the shadows, but are by the same hand; traces of a curved line in black chalk and partly in brush and gray ink in the lower corners and at the upper right.
  • Dimensions: 10 7/16 x 6 5/8 in. (26.5 x 16.8 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.851
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

More Artwork

More Artwork
Adoration of the Magi, Cartapesta (papier maché) with polychromy and gilding, German
Adoration of the Magi
German
1470–1480
Christ Brought Before Pontius Pilate, Anonymous, Spanish, School of Seville, 17th century Spanish, Pen and light brown ink, brush and light brown wash, reinforced with pen and dark brown ink, highlighted with white gouache (oxidized) on figure of Pilate and throne, over traces of black chalk underdrawing. Lower border of composition outlined with pen and dark brown ink. On off-white paper
Christ Brought Before Pontius Pilate
Anonymous, Spanish, School of Seville, 17th century
17th century
A Swiss Guard, Federico Zuccaro (Zuccari) Italian, Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over extensive black chalk underdrawing; squared in black chalk.
A Swiss Guard
Attributed to Federico Zuccaro (Zuccari)
late 16th–early 17th century
Study for the Crucifixion, Benjamin West American, Brown ink applied by brush and pen, black chalk underdrawing; laid paper prepared with a light golden brown wash, American
Study for the Crucifixion
Benjamin West
1788
Interior of Saint Peter's, Hubert Robert French, Pen and black ink over blue, green, and rose watercolor, gray and brown wash with red chalk underdrawing.
Interior of Saint Peter's
Hubert Robert
ca. 1758

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.