Artwork
The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist
The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Juan de Flandes. It dates from 1499 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
It shows the infant John in the arms of his mother Elizabeth, attended by the Virgin Mary and his father Zechariah, who is depicted inscribing the child's name.
The painting illustrates the biblical episode of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. It shows the infant John in the arms of his mother Elizabeth, attended by the Virgin Mary and his father Zechariah, who is depicted inscribing the child's name. This composition emphasizes the miraculous nature of John's birth, the fulfillment of the angelic prophecy, and the sanctity of the Holy Family's extended kin.
Technique & Style
Created in 1497, this religious panel painting is executed in oil paint on a wooden support. The work measures 88.4 cm in height and 49.9 cm in width. As a product of Juan de Flandes, a Netherlandish artist active between approximately 1460 and 1519, the piece exhibits the formal characteristics typical of Northern Renaissance panel painting.
The medium of oil on panel allowed for the detailed rendering of the depicted figures, which include the Child Saint John, Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah. The artwork remains in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, having been acquired as part of the Frederick Mont collection in 1975. The physical construction on panel and the use of oil pigments define its material identity and handling within the context of late 15th-century European art production.
History & Provenance
Juan de Flandes executed The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist in 1497, painting it in oil on panel. The work entered the collection of Frederick Mont before being acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is registered as accession 1975.3 and remains on view. No documentary evidence of a specific commission survives, but the panel’s modest dimensions and devotional subject suggest it was produced for a private patron or a small altar. The painting’s provenance therefore traces from the artist’s studio through Mont’s ownership to its present institutional home.
Overview
This oil painting, titled The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist, captures a significant moment from biblical history. The composition features multiple figures gathered in an interior space, attending to a newborn child. A woman kneels with the infant, while an older man reads nearby, and other individuals are present, contributing to the narrative of the event within a detailed domestic setting.
Artist & collection
- The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist
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The birth of Mary
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Saint Anne with the Christ Child, the Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist
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The Presentation in the Temple
The Holy Family with an Angel
Kaisheimer Altar: Darbringung im Tempel
Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
The Adoration of the Shepherds
Adoration of the Shepherds