St. John the Baptist

Abstract

John the Baptist, wearing his penitential camel skin cloak, points outward, either in his role as preacher or gesturing to Christ, which he does when saying "Behold the Lamb of God." This painted wood sculpture has been attributed on the basis of style to Giovanni di Turino, a Sienese goldsmith and sculptor in a variety of media, and dated to c. 1420-5. Giovanni generally worked in the manner of Lorenzo Ghiberti, but if this is an imitation of Ghiberti's bronze image of John the Baptist from Orsanmichele, it is a much calmer one, with simplified drapery. This version of John is also much more well-fed, less of the haggard prophet who survived on locusts and honey. The sculpture is made from a single log of walnut, hollowed to prevent cracking, the opening covered by a plank of poplar attached with nails. The original location of this sculpture is unknown. It was in the Seminario of Montalcino before being brought to its current location, the Museo Civico e Diocesano d'Arte Sacra, Montalcino. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.