John the Baptist
(Ital. Giovanni Battista)

The forerunner or 'messenger' of Christ, he forms a link between the Old and New Testaments, being regarded as the last in the line of Old Testament prophets and the first of the saints of the New, in which his story is told. He was the son of Zacharias, a priest of the Temple of Jerusalem, and Elizabeth, a kinswoman of the Virgin. He was a preacher and lived an ascetic life in the desert. He baptized in the Jordan waters all who came to him in a penitent spirit. At the baptism of Christ, the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove was seen to descend from heaven. He was imprisoned by Herod Antipas - the son of Herod the Great - and later executed as a consequence of a rash promise made by the tetrarch to his step-daughter Salome. John is portrayed in two ways: (1) As an infant, with the infant Christ, in scenes of the Holy Family. This theme - for which there is no biblical basis first occurs in the art of the Italian Renaissance. John is shown as somewhat the older of the two, and holds his reed Cross. (2) As an adult he is usually emaciated and unkempt, dressed in a tunic of animals' skins, with a leather girdle. He may hold a Honeycomb which, with locusts, was his food in the desert (Mark 1: 6). He holds a Lamb which in earlier representations may have a cruciform nimbus. The lamb and the accompanying inscription, 'Ecce Agnus Dei', derive from the fourth gospel (1: 36), 'John looked towards [Jesus] and said, "There is the Lamb of God." ' His almost invariable attribute is the reed cross with a long slender stem. Occasionally he holds a baptismal cup. A tradition that is confined to Byzantine art, shows John with angels' wings, since both he and they are messengers. Another, less frequent, idealized type found chiefly in Italian and Spanish painting depicts him as a handsome youth, usually alone in the wilderness. John is the patron of several Italian cities, notably Florence. His devotional image and narrative cycles of his life are found in the many churches of which he is the titular saint. Baptisteries are naturally dedicated to him. He appears in devotional paintings of the Virgin with his namesake John the Evangelist; with other patron saints of Florence such as Zenobius; with Cosmas and Damian and Julian the Hospitator, the patrons of the Medici family of Florence; and with Sebastian in votive paintings against the plague. Scenes from his life occur frequently in narrative cycles or as single pictures.

1. The annunciation to Zacharias (Luke 1:5–22). The birth of John was foretold to Zacharias by the angel Gabriel who appeared to him in the Temple while he was offering incense. Zacharias stands before an altar holding a censer, the angel facing him. Because he disbelieved the angel (Elizabeth was till that time barren), Zacharias was struck dumb. To signify this he may hold his finger to his mouth.
   
   
2. The birth and naming of St John (Luke 1: 57–64). The scene is a bedchamber. Elizabeth, who may be an old woman, is in bed, midwives are in attendance, and neighbors and relatives are entering. The infant may be in his mother's arms or, after the account in the Golden Legend, is sometimes held by the Virgin seated on the floor: 'it is said that she did the office and service to receive St John Baptist when he was born'. It was proposed to call the infant Zacharias after his father but his mother refused, insisting that he be called John. They asked Zacharias who signified his agreement by writing on a tablet 'His name is John', since he was bereft of speech. From that moment his speech was restored. Zacharias may sit beside the bed inscribing the infant's name on a tablet, though the naming in fact took place eight days afterwards.
   
   
3. John the Baptist in the wilderness (Luke 1: 80). He is seen taking leave of his parents, and retiring to the desert guided by an angel. He is frequently depicted alone, in a woodland setting, the lamb at his feet; he meditates or is in prayer. Italian and Spanish artists, especially of the 16th and 17th cents., portray him as a pretty child or handsome youth, sometimes accompanied by the young Christ.
   
   
4. St. John preaching to the multitude (Luke 3:1–17).He stands on a rock or on an improvised pulpit in the middle of a throng of listeners, preaching to them. He may have a scroll with the inscription 'Vex clamantis in deserto' - 'A voice crying aloud in the wilderness'.
   
   
5. St. John baptizes the people (Matt. 3:5–6).The Baptist stands beside the river Jordan, pouring water from a cup on to the head of a kneeling figure. Others are undressing by the bank and entering the river.
   
   
6. St John rebukes Herod (Mark 6:17–20). John rebuked Herod for having married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. The tetrarch and his wife are seen on a throne. Herodias' daughter Salome stands beside her mother. John remonstrates with Herod: 'You have no right to your brother's wife'. As a consequence Herod was persuaded by his wife to imprison John.
   
   
7. The banquet of Herod; the dance of Salome (Mark 6:21–28). Herod held a banquet at which his step-daughter Salome danced before him. He was so carried away that he rashly swore to grant her whatever she asked. Herodias, to take revenge on the Baptist, told her daughter to ask for his head on a dish. Herod, though much distressed, kept his oath. In medieval art Salome may be seen performing an acrobatic hand-stand. Later artists depict her dancing, usually partly draped though in fact she would have been naked. There are often musicians playing perhaps a pipe and tambourine. Salome is also seen kneeling before Herodias, receiving her fatal instructions; or she dances holding above her head a dish with the Baptist's head on it. The banqueting scene is sometimes combined with the next, the beheading.
   
   
8. The beheading, or decollation, of John the Baptist. In a prison yard John kneels before an executioner with a sword. His hands are tied behind his back, and he may be blindfold. Herod and Herodias may be looking on. Or the executioner presents the dripping head to Salome who holds out a dish.
   
   
9. Salome presents the head of John the Baptist to Herodias. Salome, once more in the banqueting hall, offers the dish, with averted face, to Herod and Herodias who may cover their eyes in horror. Alternatively Herodias pierces the head or the tongue with a knife or hair-pin. The head by itself on a charger is a frequent subject at all periods from the end of the Middle Ages. The image was venerated as a symbol of the saint, and was believed to have curative powers. The head itself, as a sacred relic, is claimed to be in the possession of more than one church.
   
   
10. The burning of the Baptist's bones. It was said that the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate in the 4th cent. had St John's supposed remains disinterred and publicly burned, as a move to discourage his cult. The theme occurs in late medieval art of northern Europe.