Description
Saint John the Baptist is a panel painted by Pietro Lorenzetti around 1329 for the Carmelite altarpiece in Siena. The saint stands beneath a Gothic arch, wearing a red cloak over a camel-hair garment and carrying a slender cross. His attenuated shape contrasts with the closely observed face, rough clothing and bare feet. A gold-leaf background places him within a sacred realm while the modeling gives his body convincing substance.
Originally the panel accompanied the Prophet Elisha and flanked the central image of the Virgin and Child. Its placement helped connect biblical prophecy to Christian history within the Carmelites’ religious program. Now in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, the painting illustrates the remarkable colors, material refinement and imposing figural presence of the Sienese master.
