Neri di Bicci Saint John the Baptist Leaving for the Desert Florence, 1470 Tempera on wood 23.8 x 37.8 cm The young John the Baptist travels from the city to the desert to preach about Jesus, his maternal cousin. He leaves his disheartened parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and doesn’t look back. This is a very … Read more
Unknown Venetian Artist The Madonna Enthroned with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Mary Magdalen Venice, late 14th century Tempera on wood 27.2 x 40 cm This is a fully intact, portable triptych (painting of three parts). Most early Italian paintings were divided to be sold more easily on the art market and now only … Read more
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist Paris, 1869 Oil on canvas 124.5 x 166 cm Salome, to the right, witnesses the execution of Saint John; she holds a dish to receive his severed head. In the biblical story Salome’s dance enchanted Herod and his wife Herodias, who persuaded her husband … Read more