John the Baptist

===Western art===
After the earliest images showing the Baptism of the Lord follow ones with St John shown as an ascetic wearing camel hair, with a staff and scroll inscribed (in Western art) {{lang|la|"Ecce Agnus Dei"}}, or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it.<ref name=ODCC/>

The Baptist is very often shown on altarpieces designed for churches dedicated to him, where the donor was named for him or where there was some other patronage connection. John the Baptist is the [[patron saint]] of [[Florence]] and has often been depicted in the art of that city,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFhVehAvVyUC&q=Virgin+of+the+Rocks|title=Art in Renaissance Italy|first1=John T.|last1=Paoletti|first2=Gary M.|last2=Radke|date=15 May 2005|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|isbn=9781856694391|via=Google Books|access-date=14 January 2021|archive-date=26 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026090931/https://books.google.com/books?id=EFhVehAvVyUC&q=Virgin+of+the+Rocks#v=snippet&q=Virgin%20of%20the%20Rocks&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and also frequently appears in [[baptistries]], which are very often dedicated to him.<ref name=":1">Hall, 173</ref> Major works depicting St John the Baptist can be found in the [[Florence Baptistery]], including the mosaics on the vault, the bronze doors by [[Andrea Pisano]], and the great silver altar<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://operaduomo.firenze.it/en/magazine/posts/the-silver-altar-also-named-the-saint-john-s-treasure|title=The Silver Altar, also named The Saint John's Treasure|website=operaduomo.firenze.it|access-date=14 January 2021|archive-date=9 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209201919/https://operaduomo.firenze.it/en/magazine/posts/the-silver-altar-also-named-the-saint-john-s-treasure|url-status=live}}</ref> now in the [[Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)|Museo dell'Opera del Duomo]].

[[File:InfantJesus JohnBaptist.JPG|thumb|right|John the Baptist (right) with the [[Christ Child]], in ''The Holy Children with a Shell'' by [[Bartolomé Esteban Murillo]]]]

A number of narrative scenes from his life were often shown on the [[predella]] of altarpieces dedicated to John, and other settings, notably in the frescoes by Giotto for the [[c:Category:Peruzzi Chapel|Peruzzi Chapel]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/giotto/s_croce/1peruzzi/index.html|title=Frescoes in the Peruzzi Chapel (c. 1315)|website=www.wga.hu|access-date=14 January 2021|archive-date=16 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116194422/https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/giotto/s_croce/1peruzzi/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> in the church of [[Santa Croce, Florence|Santa Croce]], the large series in [[grisaille]] [[fresco]] in the [[Chiostro dello Scalzo]], which was [[Andrea del Sarto]]'s largest work, and the frescoed ''Life'' by [[Domenico Ghirlandaio]] in the [[Tornabuoni Chapel]], all in Florence. There is another important fresco cycle by [[Filippo Lippi]] in [[Prato Cathedral]]. These include the typical scenes:<ref>See [[Tornabuoni Chapel]] for further information on these scenes</ref> the Annunciation to [[Zechariah (priest)|Zechariah]]; John's birth; his naming by his father; the [[Visitation (Christianity)|Visitation]]; John's departure for the desert; his preaching in the desert; the [[Baptism of Christ]]; John before Herod; the dance of Herod's stepdaughter, [[Salome]]; [[beheading of Saint John the Baptist|his beheading]]; and the daughter of [[Herodias]] Salome carrying his head on a platter.<ref>Hall, 173–174, 337</ref><ref>The story of his execution appears in the Bible books {{bibleverse|Matthew|14:8}} and {{bibleverse|Mark|6:25}}, without the name Salome.</ref>

His birth, which unlike the [[Nativity of Jesus in art|Nativity of Jesus]] allowed a relatively wealthy domestic interior to be shown, became increasingly popular as a subject in the late [[Middle Ages]],<ref name=":1" /> with depictions by [[Jan van Eyck]] in the [[Turin-Milan Hours]] and Ghirlandaio in the Tornabuoni Chapel being among the best known. His execution, a church feast-day, was often shown, and by the 15th century scenes such as the dance of Salome became popular; sometimes, as in an [[engraving]] by [[Israhel van Meckenem]], the interest of the artist is clearly in showing the life of Herod's court, given contemporary dress, as much as the martyrdom of the saint.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.artsmia.org/art/47973/the-dance-at-the-court-of-herod-israhel-van-meckenem|title=The Dance at the Court of Herod, c. 1500 (engraving by Israhel van Meckenem)|publisher=Artsmia.org|access-date=12 October 2010|archive-date=13 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013060329/https://collections.artsmia.org/art/47973/the-dance-at-the-court-of-herod-israhel-van-meckenem|url-status=live}}</ref> The execution was usually by a swordsman, with John kneeling in prayer, Salome often standing by with an empty platter, and Herod and Herodias at table in a cut-through view of a building in the background.
[[File:Head of St. John the Baptist on a Plate, Southern Netherlands, c. 1430, oak - Bode-Museum - DSC03181 (cropped).JPG|thumb|Head of St John the Baptist on a Plate, Southern Netherlands, {{c.|1430}}, oak]]

Salome bearing John's head on a platter equally became a subject for the [[Power of Women]] group: a Northern Renaissance fashion for images of glamorous but dangerous women ([[Delilah]], [[Judith]] and others).<ref>On this see Chapter V, "The Power of Women", in H. Diane Russell;''Eva/Ave; Women in Renaissance and Baroque Prints''; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990; {{ISBN|1-55861-039-1}}</ref> It was often painted by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] and engraved by the [[Little Masters]]. When the head is brought to the table by Salome, Herod may be shown as startled, if not disgusted, but Herodias is usually not. These images remained popular into the Baroque, with [[Carlo Dolci]] painting at least three versions. John preaching, in a landscape setting, was a popular subject in Dutch art from [[Pieter Brueghel the Elder]] and his successors.<ref>Hall, 173–174</ref> The isolated motif of the severed head, often on its platter, was a frequent image, often in sculpture, from the late Middle Ages onwards,<ref name=":2">Hall, 174</ref> known as {{lang|la|Ioannes in disco}} (Latin for "John on a plate").

As a child (of varying age), he is sometimes shown from the 15th century in family scenes from the life of Christ such as the [[Holy Family#In art|Holy Family]],<ref>Hall, 172, 334–335</ref> the [[Presentation of Christ]], the [[Marriage of the Virgin]] and the [[Holy Kinship]]. In the Baptism of Christ his presence was obligatory.<ref>Hall, 39–40, 173</ref> [[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s two versions of the ''[[Virgin of the Rocks]]'' were influential in establishing a Renaissance fashion for variations on the [[Madonna and Child]] which included John. [[Raphael]] in particular painted many compositions of the subject, such as the ''[[Alba Madonna]]'', {{lang|fr|[[La belle jardinière]]}}, the ''[[Garvagh Madonna]]'', the {{lang|it|[[Madonna della seggiola]]}}, and the {{lang|it|[[Madonna dell'Impannata (Raphael)|Madonna dell'Impannata]]}}, which are among his best-known works.

John was also often shown by himself as an adolescent or adult, usually already wearing his distinctive dress and carrying a long thin wooden cross<ref name=":0">Hall, 172</ref> – another theme [[Saint John the Baptist (Leonardo)|influenced by Leonardo]], whose equivocal composition, with the camel-skin dress, was developed by Raphael, [[Titian]] and [[Guido Reni]] among many others. Often he is accompanied by a lamb, especially in the many [[Early Netherlandish painting]]s which needed this attribute as he wore normal clothes, or a red robe over a not very clearly indicated camel skin.<ref name=":0" /> [[Caravaggio]] painted an especially large number of works depicting John, from [[John the Baptist (Caravaggio)|at least five largely nude youths]] attributed to him, to three late works on his death – the great ''[[The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (Caravaggio)|Execution]]'' in Malta, and two sombre Salomes with his head, [[Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Madrid) (Caravaggio)|one in Madrid]], and [[Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Caravaggio, London)|one in London]].

[[File:John Everett Millais - Christ in the House of His Parents (`The Carpenter's Shop') - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|St John (right) in ''[[Christ in the House of His Parents]]'' by [[John Everett Millais]], 1849–50]]
[[Amiens Cathedral]], which holds one of the alleged heads of the Baptist, has a biographical sequence in polychrome relief, dating from the 16th century. This includes the execution and the disposal of the saint's remains, which according to legend were burnt in the reign of [[Julian the Apostate]] (4th century) to prevent pilgrimages.<ref name=":2" />

A remarkable [[Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood|Pre-Raphaelite]] portrayal is ''[[Christ in the House of His Parents]]'' by [[John Everett Millais]]. Here the Baptist is shown as a child, wearing a loin covering of animal skins, hurrying into [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]'s carpenter shop with a bowl of water to join [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]], Joseph, and Mary's mother [[Saint Anne|Anne]] in soothing the injured hand of Jesus. Artistic interest enjoyed a considerable revival at the end of the 19th century with [[Symbolist]] painters such as [[Gustave Moreau]] and [[Puvis de Chavannes]] ([[National Gallery]], London).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sir John Everett Millais, Christ in the House of His Parents (article)|url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/victorian-art-architecture/pre-raphaelites/a/sir-john-everett-millais-christ-in-the-house-of-his-parents|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Khan Academy|language=en|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227184536/https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/victorian-art-architecture/pre-raphaelites/a/sir-john-everett-millais-christ-in-the-house-of-his-parents|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Oscar Wilde]]'s play ''[[Salome (play)|Salome]]'' was illustrated by [[Aubrey Beardsley]], giving rise to some of his most memorable images.

<gallery>
Leonardo da Vinci - St John the Baptist - WGA12723.jpg|St. John the Baptist ({{c.|1513–1516}}), [[Leonardo da Vinci]]
Allori C San Giovanni.jpg|''John the Baptist in the desert'' (1577–1621), [[Cristofano Allori]]
Fondazione Querini Stampalia - San Giovanni Battista (1674-81) - Michele Fabris.jpg|''John the Baptist'' (17th century), [[Michele Fabris]]
Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre-Cécile - The Beheading of St John the Baptist - c. 1869.jpg|''The Beheading of St John the Baptist'', {{c.|1869}}, [[Puvis de Chavannes]]
</gallery>
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