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Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness

Workshop of Francesco Granacci Italian
ca. 1506–7
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 613
This painting formed part of a series of possibly five panels illustrating the life of Saint John the Baptist, likely designed to decorate a room in a Florentine palace. Landscape and architecture throughout the cycle’s compositions frame and divide the individual scenes. Here, craggy rockfaces form a stagelike backdrop for John preaching in the wilderness. This “wilderness” includes a nearby farm and city beyond. The five panels are by more than one artist, a common practice in Florence at the time, employed for workshop efficiency. Some scholars have even proposed the contributions of the young Michelangelo, who was Granacci’s friend.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness
  • Artist: Workshop of Francesco Granacci (Italian, Villamagna 1469–1543 Florence)
  • Date: ca. 1506–7
  • Medium: Oil and gold on wood
  • Dimensions: 29 3/4 x 82 1/2 in. (75.6 x 209.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gwynne Andrews, Harris Brisbane Dick, Dodge, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds, funds from various donors, Ella Morris de Peyster Gift, Mrs. Donald Oenslager Gift, and Gifts in memory of Robert Lehman, 1970
  • Object Number: 1970.134.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Scenes from the Life of Saint John the Baptist, Francesco Granacci (Francesco di Andrea di Marco) Italian, Tempera, oil, and gold on wood
Scenes from the Life of Saint John the Baptist
Francesco Granacci (Francesco di Andrea di Marco)
ca. 1506–7
Madonna and Child, Vincenzo Foppa Italian, Tempera, oil, and gold on wood
Madonna and Child
Vincenzo Foppa
ca. 1480
Madonna and Child, Luca Signorelli (Luca d'Egidio di Luca di Ventura) Italian, Oil and gold on wood
Madonna and Child
Luca Signorelli (Luca d'Egidio di Luca di Ventura)
ca. 1505–7
The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo) Italian, Oil on wood
The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist
Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo)
ca. 1528
Portrait of a Young Man, Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio) Italian, Oil on wood
Portrait of a Young Man
Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio)
ca. 1470

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