Heiliger Johannes der Täufer

The Master of Badia a Isola painted this Saint John the Baptist around 1301, depicting the desert prophet who was one of the most important saints in the Gothic devotional hierarchy. John the Baptist served as patron of numerous Italian cities and guilds, ensuring constant demand for his image. This panel likely formed part of a polyptych where the Baptist flanked a central Madonna or Christ figure.

Tempera and gold on panel with the saint rendered against a burnished gold ground. The artist's style shows the transitional qualities of the early Trecento, combining residual Byzantine linearism with the emerging volumetric concerns of the new Tuscan painting.