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Saint John the Baptist

ca. 1620–22
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
The young Saint John the Baptist is shown as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord" (Mark　1:3). The same youth reappears as Daniel in the Innocence of Susanna, on view in the next gallery. As recorded in the inscription, this picture was given to the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in 1733 and was hung outside on the saint’s feast day, which explains its compromised condition. Valentin here reinterprets a famous work by Caravaggio with the active pose and almost audible voice of the saint.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint John the Baptist
  • Artist: Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1620–22
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 66 1/8 × 48 1/16 in. (168 × 122 cm)
    Frame: 70 1/2 × 52 3/4 in. (179 × 134 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings