Saint John the Baptist

Orcagna (Andrea di Cione), the dominant artistic personality in mid-fourteenth-century Florence, created this image of Saint John the Baptist around 1355. As painter, sculptor, and architect, Orcagna wielded extraordinary influence over Florentine art, and his monumental, hieratic style defined the post-plague generation's aesthetic. The Baptist held special significance in Florence as the city's patron saint, making depictions of him among the most important commissions available to local painters.

Executed in egg tempera on gold-ground panel, the Baptist figure displays Orcagna's characteristic sculptural solidity and austere grandeur. The powerful modeling of the face and the emphatic linearity of the camel-hair garment reflect his mastery of both painting and three-dimensional form.