Saint John the Baptist

Luca di Tommè, a prominent Sienese painter active in the second half of the fourteenth century, depicted the Baptist as an ascetic prophet with characteristic camel-hair garment and scroll. Working in the tradition of the great Sienese masters Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers, Luca combined their lyrical refinement with the more monumental figural style emerging in late Trecento Siena. This panel likely formed part of a polyptych altarpiece for a Sienese church or chapel.

The egg tempera on gold-ground panel displays Luca di Tommè's characteristic blend of Sienese elegance with solid three-dimensional modeling. The saint's drapery falls in rhythmic Gothic folds, while the face shows careful chiaroscuro modeling in the Sienese manner.