Icon of St John the
Baptist
Byzantine, around AD
1300
From Constantinople (modern Istanbul,
Turkey)
In this compelling painting, St John gazes
directly at the viewer. Despite his long wild hair and straggly
beard he projects a sense of wisdom and serenity. He is identified
by a Greek inscription in red - on the left side of the halo:
'St John' and on the right side: 'o
Prodromos' ('the Forerunner'). His
ascetic
background is evident; under his red tunic and long green mantle he
wears a hair shirt. He holds a scroll in his left hand and raises
his right in blessing.
The
wooden panel, prepared with a linen and gesso surface, has a raised
border which frames the saint. The lower part of the figure and his
incised halo break this frame, projecting him into the
viewer's space. His beautifully modelled face and garments
are set against the continuous gold leaf ground, giving the saint a
sense of tangible reality in cosmic space. The figural style of
this painting is comparable to frescoes and mosaics made in
Constantinople around AD 1300.
D. Buckton (ed.), Byzantium: treasures of Byzant (London, The British Museum Press, 1994)
R. Cormack and S. Mihalarias, 'Two icons, more or less Byzantine', Apollo-2, 124 (1986)