Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness

Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Diego Velázquez: This painting depicts a young Saint John the Baptist living as a hermit in the wilderness. His cro…

What to notice

The saint’s lean body and red drapery stand against a spare wilderness; look for how the low horizon leaves the solitary figure exposed to a large sky.

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This painting depicts a young Saint John the Baptist living as a hermit in the wilderness. His cross of reeds, pointing gesture, and the nearby lamb refer to his role as a prophet foretelling the coming of Christ, the so-called “lamb of God,” in the New Testament. Previously attributed to an unknown Sevillian artist, this painting has recently been recognized as the work of a young Diego Velázquez. The treatment of the saint is more idealized than figures in Velázquez’s earliest work, suggesting that it may have b…