Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

c. 1622

Artist:

Diego Velázquez
Spanish, 1599–1660

About this artwork

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 been made after his brief visit to Madrid in 1622, where Italian paintings in the royal collection exposed him to new ways of depicting the human figure.

Status

On View, Gallery 211

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Diego Velázquez

Title

Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness

Place

Seville (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1617–1627

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

175.3 × 152.5 cm (69 × 60 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Barbara Deering Danielson

Reference Number

1957.563

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/6831/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share