Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness

Workshop of Francesco Granacci Italian

Not on view

This painting formed part of a series of possibly five panels illustrating the life of Saint John the Baptist, likely designed to decorate a room in a Florentine palace. Landscape and architecture throughout the cycle’s compositions frame and divide the individual scenes. Here, craggy rockfaces form a stagelike backdrop for John preaching in the wilderness. This “wilderness” includes a nearby farm and city beyond. The five panels are by more than one artist, a common practice in Florence at the time, employed for workshop efficiency. Some scholars have even proposed the contributions of the young Michelangelo, who was Granacci’s friend.

Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness, Workshop of Francesco Granacci (Italian, Villamagna 1469–1543 Florence), Oil and gold on wood

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