Saint John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness

Saint John the Baptist preaches in the wilderness in this 1660 painting at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Rosa"s multiple Baptist scenes show him approaching the same subject from different angles, varying the relationship between the preaching figure and the landscape and the size and disposition of the listening crowd. The Saint Louis Art Museum"s collection of Italian Baroque painting includes several works that document the taste for dramatic, dark-toned Italian painting that American collectors developed in the nineteenth century.

The Baptist"s figure rises above the crowd in a wilderness setting, with Rosa"s mature 1660 palette showing greater refinement and cooler tones than his earlier versions of the subject. The crowd of listeners is rendered with varied attitudes of attention, their faces picked out by selective lighting. The wilderness landscape frames the scene with characteristic grandeur, the trees and rocks creating a natural cathedral for the prophet"s message.