John The Baptist - in Art

In Art

The beheading of St. John the Baptist is a standard theme in Christian art, in which John's head is often depicted on a platter, which represents the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salome. He is also depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair, with a staff and scroll inscribed Ecce Agnus Dei, or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it. In Orthodox icons, he often has angel's wings, since Mark 1:2 describes him as a messenger.

The Baptism of Christ was one of the earliest scenes from the Life of Christ to be frequently depicted in Early Christian art, and John's tall thin, even gaunt, and bearded figure is already established by the 5th century. Only he and Jesus are consistently shown with long hair from Early Christian times, when the apostles generally have trim classical cuts; in fact John is more consistently depicted in this way than Jesus. In Byzantine art the composition of the Deesis came to be included in every Eastern Orthodox church, as remains the case to this day. Here John and the Theotokos (Mary) flank a Christ Pantocrator and intercede for humanity; in many ways this is the equivalent of Western Crucifixions on roods and elsewhere, where John the Evangelist takes the place of John the Baptist (except in the idiosyncratic Isenheim Altarpiece). John the Baptist is very often shown on altarpieces designed for churches dedicated to him, or where the donor patron was named for him or there was some other connection of patronage - John was the patron saint of Florence, among many other cities, which means he features among the supporting saints in many important works.

• Byzantine mosaic (12th century) in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

• 12th century Byzantine Deesis

• "Deesis row", as usual at the centre of the Iconostasis; Cathedral of the Annunciation, Moscow Kremlin, by Theophanes the Greek, 1405.

• 11th century Baptism of Christ with a typical medieval solution to the problem of depicting the river.

• Rogier van der Weyden Baptism, from an altarpiece with three scenes from the life of John (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin).

• 1880s Baptism of Christ (Our Lady of Manaoag Museum, Philippines).

A number of narrative scenes from his life were often shown on the predella of altarpieces dedicated to John, and other settings, notably the large series in grisaille fresco in the Chiostro del Scalzo, which was Andrea del Sarto's largest work, and the frescoed Life by Domenico Ghirlandaio in the Tornabuoni Chapel, both in Florence. There is another important fresco cycle by Filippo Lippi in Prato Cathedral. These include the typical scenes: the Annunciation to Zechariah, John's birth, his naming by his father, the Visitation, John's departure for the desert, his preaching in the desert, the Baptism of Christ, John before Herod, the dance of Salome, and his beheading.

His birth, which unlike the Nativity of Jesus allowed a relatively wealthy domestic interior to be shown, became increasingly popular as a subject in the late Middle Ages, with depictions by Jan van Eyck (?) in the Turin-Milan Hours and Ghirlandaio in the Tornabuoni Chapel being among the best known. His execution, a Church feast-day, was often shown, and by the 15th century scenes such as the dance of Salome became popular, sometimes, as in an engraving by Israhel van Meckenem, the interest of the artist is clearly in showing the life of Herod's court, given contemporary dress, as much as the martyrdom of the saint. Salome bearing John's head on a platter equally became a subject for the Northern Renaissance taste for images of glamorous but dangerous women (Delilah, Judith and others), and was often painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder and engraved by the Little Masters. These images remained popular into the Baroque, with Carlo Dolci painting at least three versions. John preaching, in a landscape setting, was a popular subject in Dutch art from Pieter Brueghel the Elder and his successors.

• The Annunciation to Zachary, as usual shown officiating at the Temple in Jerusalem. Tornabuoni Chapel

• Above, the Birth, below, the Baptism of Christ, perhaps Jan van Eyck, Turin-Milan Hours.

• John (shown twice) sets off for the desert, a predella scene by Giovanni di Paolo.

• John preaching in the wilderness, a 19th century depiction

• The Baptist in a baroque polychrome statuette ca. 1700 carved in pinewood from Val Gardena.

As a child (of varying age), he is sometimes shown from the 15th century in family scenes from the life of Christ such as the Presentation of Christ, the Marriage of the Virgin and the Holy Kinship. Leonardo da Vinci's versions of the Virgin of the Rocks were influential in establishing a Renaissance fashion for variations on the Madonna and Child that included John, probably intended to depict the cousin's reunion in Egypt, when after Jesus' Flight to Egypt John was believed to have been carried to join him by an angel. Raphael in particular painted many compositions of the subject, such as the Alba Madonna, La belle jardinière, Aldobrandini Madonna, Madonna della seggiola, Madonna dell'Impannata, which were among his best known works. John was also often shown by himself as an older child or adolescent, usually already wearing his distinctive dress and carrying a long thin wooden cross - another theme influenced by Leonardo, whose equivocal composition, reintroducing the camel-skin dress, was developed by Raphael Titian and Guido Reni among many others. Often he is accompanied by a lamb, especially in the many Early Netherlandish paintings which needed this attribute as he wore normal clothes. Caravaggio painted an especially large number of works including John, from at least five largely nude youths attributed to him, to three late works on his death - the great Execution in Malta, and two sombre Salomes with his head, one in Madrid, and one in London.

Amiens cathedral, which holds one of the alleged heads of the Baptist, has a biographical sequence in polychrome relief, dating from the 16th century. This stresses the execution and the disposal of the saint's remains.

• Biographical sequence from Amiens Cathedral

• John's impending birth is announced to his father, the priest Zachariah, who is struck dumb.

• Visitation of the Virgin Mary to John's mother, St Elizabeth, who feels him stir in the womb.

• John is named by Zachariah, who, being dumb, is forced to communicate in writing.

• John the Baptist preaches repentance in the desert.

• John baptises in the River Jordan

• John is asked if he is the expected Messiah.

• John acclaims Jesus as the Lamb of God.

• John is arrested, brought before Herod Antipas and imprisoned.

• On the instigation of Herodias, Salome demands the head of John.

• John is beheaded.

• John's head is presented at the court of Herod Antipas.

• The body of John is buried at Sebaste.

• Supplications at the tomb of John the Baptist.

• John's body is exhumed and burnt.

• John's ashes are scattered

• Brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton, John's head is received at Amiens in 1206.

The death of John remained a popular subject throughout the Baroque period.

A remarkable Pre-Raphaelite portrayal is Christ in the House of His Parents by John Everett Millais. Here the Baptist is shown as a child, wearing a loin covering of animal skins, hurrying to bring a bowl of water to soothe the injured hand of Jesus. Artistic interest enjoyed a considerable revival at the end of the 19th century with Symbolist painters such as Gustave Moreau and Puvis de Chavannes (National Gallery, London). Oscar Wilde's play Salome was illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, giving rise to some of his most memorable images.