san giovanni battista in un paesaggio

Bernardo Daddi painted Saint John the Baptist in a landscape setting around 1336 for the church of San Martino a Gangalandi near Florence. The Baptist's placement in a landscape rather than against a flat gold ground reflects the growing interest in naturalistic settings that characterized progressive Florentine painting of the Trecento. John the Baptist held special significance for Florence, where he served as the city's patron saint and protector.

Egg tempera on panel with landscape background replacing the traditional gold ground. Daddi's landscape treatment shows the influence of Giotto's naturalism, with rocky terrain and vegetation providing a wilderness setting appropriate to the Baptist's ascetic life.