Saint John The Baptist Announcing The Coming Of Christ

17th century, school of the Carracci

Saint John the Baptist announcing the coming of Christ

Oil on copper, cm 24 x 19

With frame, cm 33 x 26

The painting shows in the foreground the magnificent figure of Saint John the Baptist, the prophet who announced the arrival of the Messiah and baptized him in the waters of the river Jordan. In the painting, John is recognizable by the cane he holds on his right hand that ends with a cross, symbol of his mission and martyrdom, the camel skin robe and a red cloak symbolizing his passion for truth that will lead him to the ultimate gift of life. The Emilian painter responsible for the execution of the painting represents a young and beautiful Giovanni, with curly blonde hair and statuary build. The saint directs his gaze directly to the spectator, calling him into question: he points with his left hand at a character who stands out in the distance, with draperies of shades of pink and blue and the halo around his head. This is the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who chooses to begin his public mission at the River Jordan. At the iconographic level, the painting presents several interesting references to the pictorial experiences of the members of the Carracci family and the painters who took part in the experience of the Accademia degli incamminati, first of all Guido Reni.The iconography seems to take its cue from the unusual Saint John the Baptist announcing the coming of Christ by Annibale Carracci, an oil on copper currently preserved at the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inv. 2009.252) that has been part of various illustrious collections throughout its history, from the Farnese of Parma to that of the Prince of Orleans in Paris. The magniloquente pose of the Baptist seems instead to look at the models and the classicist import of the characters of the paintings by Guido Reni, with particular reference to the Sermon of the Baptist already in Rome collection Vietti or the San Giovanni Battista of the Royal Palace of Naples.