Saint John the Baptist

Inscriptions

none

Label

John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, was especially popular in that city in the 15th century. Here represented as a young boy, John is opening his mouth as though about to preach. He stares straight ahead, looking beyond the audience. One of the most famous sculptors in Florence, Desiderio da Settignano was especially known for his low-relief carvings in marble, a technique known as rilievo schiacciato. Here, John appears remarkably lifelike and specific—that is, humanized—and the marble adds a softness and luster to his skin. Barely perceptible, a shallow halo marks his divinity.

From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

ARTH 84, Media and Meaning in Renaissance Sculpture, Adrian Randolph, Fall 2013

HIST 43.02, European Intellectual and Cultural History 1400-1800, Darrin McMahon, Fall 2019

ARTH 28.08, Italian Art from Renaissance to Baroque: Crisis and Invention, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2020

ARTH 28.09/MES 18.02, Art on the Move: Renaissance Italy and the Islamic World, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2021

ARTH 27.02, Living Stone: Sculpture in Early Modern Italy, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2022

ARTH 27.02, Living Stone: Sculpture in Early Modern Italy, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2022

HIST 43.02, European Intellectual History 1400-1800, Darrin McMahon, Fall 2022

Exhibition History

Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 17, 2000-July 28, 2002.

Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.

Renaissance and Mannerist Plaquettes and Medals from the Collection of Roger Arvid Anderson, Class of 1968, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 19-November 21, 2013.

Publication History

Roger Arvid Anderson, The Roger Arvid Anderson Collection, Medals, Medallions, Plaquettes and Small Reliefs, Paintings, Sculpture, Works on Paper and Textiles, San Francisco: Roger Arvid Anderson (published privately), design by David L. Wilson, 2015, p. 251.

Provenance

Private collection, England; Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, California, date unknown; lent to present collection, 1995.

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