Studies of Saint John the Baptist

Copy after Rogier van der Weyden Flemish

Not on view

This highly accomplished sheet of studies in metalpoint is actually a record of a painting rather than a study for one. The bust-length profile of Saint John the Baptist and adjacent studies of legs correspond exactly to the figure of Saint John baptizing Christ in the central panel of a triptych by Rogier van der Weyden, Scenes from the Life of Saint John the Baptist (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin). The technique of using careful crosshatching and controlled contour lines, sometime softened by hatchmarks, relates to metalpoint drawings attributed to Rogier. Moreover, the drawing reflects such a thorough understanding of his idiosyncrasies that one might attribute the sheet to some gifted artist working directly after the Berlin triptych was completed (following 1445).

Studies of Saint John the Baptist, Copy after Rogier van der Weyden (Tournai, 1399–Brussels, 1464), Metalpoint on gray prepared paper, Flemish

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Studies of Saint John the Baptist, Copy after Rogier van der Weyden (Tournai, 1399–Brussels, 1464), Metalpoint on gray prepared paper, Flemish
Studies of Saint John the Baptist, Copy after Rogier van der Weyden (Tournai, 1399–Brussels, 1464), Metalpoint on gray prepared paper, Flemish
Studies of Saint John the Baptist, Copy after Rogier van der Weyden (Tournai, 1399–Brussels, 1464), Metalpoint on gray prepared paper, Flemish

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