Landscape with Saint John the Baptist

Landscape with Saint John the Baptist by Herri met de Bles: This picture is an example of the so-called world landscape, a term coined…

What to notice

In Landscape with Saint John the Baptist, start with classical, figurative, complex. Then look closely at this museum-described detail: This type of landscape, popularized by the Flemish painter Joachim Patinir (about 1485-1524), was fashionable throughout the 16th century.

Discover

This picture is an example of the so-called world landscape, a term coined by art historians to characterize a type of Northern landscape painting with a vast panorama and a narrative religious subject in the foreground. This type of landscape, popularized by the Flemish painter Joachim Patinir (about 1485-1524), was fashionable throughout the 16th century. Bles placed the group of exotically dressed figures on a piece of land overlooking a great panorama of mountains, coast, and sea.