Artwork
Johannes der Täufer
Johannes der Täufer is a color painting by the High Renaissance artist Palma Vecchio. It dates from 1527 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition serves to visualize the saint for veneration, consistent with the genre's intent to portray sacred narratives and figures.
Executed in 1527 by Palma Vecchio, this religious painting depicts John the Baptist as its sole main subject. The work functions as a devotional image within the Christian tradition, focusing entirely on the figure of the saint. As a piece of religious art housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the canvas utilizes color to render the biblical figure, adhering to the iconographic conventions of the period for representing the baptist.
The composition serves to visualize the saint for veneration, consistent with the genre's intent to portray sacred narratives and figures.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1527, this religious painting by Palma Vecchio utilizes color on a canvas support. The work measures 72.5 cm in height and 56 cm in width. As a depiction of John the Baptist, the piece functions within the genre of religious art, characterized by its specific material composition and dimensions recorded in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
History & Provenance
The work was painted in 1527 by Palma Vecchio, as indicated by the artist’s inscription and the date on the painting’s original frame, which corresponds to the artist’s late period and the documented vogue for half-length devotional images of the Baptist in Venice during the 1520s.
By the late sixteenth century it had entered the imperial collections in Prague, assembled by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. Following the transfer of key holdings from Prague to Vienna in the seventeenth century, the painting became part of the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it has remained in continuous institutional custody.
The painting is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it is inventoried as part of the museum’s holdings.
It was exhibited at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in the context of its permanent collection display of Italian Renaissance paintings, as recorded in the museum’s documentation.
Overview
The painting Johannes der Täufer is a work by Jacopo Palma, known as Palma Vecchio, a Venetian artist active during the Italian High Renaissance.
Artist & collection
Artist
Palma Vecchio (c. 1480 – 30 July 1528), born Jacopo Palma, also known as Jacopo Negretti, was a Venetian painter of the Italian High Renaissance. He is called Palma Vecchio in English and Palma il Vecchio in Italian…
