Artwork
Landscape with St John the Evangelist at Patmos
Landscape with St John the Evangelist at Patmos is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Tobias Verhaecht. It dates from 1600 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
This painting is called Landscape with St John the Evangelist at Patmos. It's an oil paint work.
The painting was completed in 1598 by Tobias Verhaecht and another artist, Gillis Coignet. It's now held in a museum, which is interesting because it shows how art can be shared and preserved over time.
You can learn more about the artist behind this work, artist: Tobias Verhaecht.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays Saint John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos, shown seated on a rock by the sea as he writes the Book of Revelation.
The painting portrays Saint John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos, shown seated on a rock by the sea as he writes the Book of Revelation. An eagle, his traditional attribute, rests beside him, symbolizing divine inspiration. The work combines a religious narrative with a detailed landscape, reflecting the Counter-Reformation interest in apocalyptic visions. It was created in 1598 by Tobias Verhaecht and Gillis Coignet in Flanders and is now housed in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, where it entered the collection in 1934.
The subject draws on the legend that John received the vision of the Apocalypse while exiled on Patmos during the reign of Emperor Domitian. The composition emphasizes his role as the author of the prophetic vision, linking his exile to the divine revelation he records.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, a medium and support typical of late‑16th‑century Flemish painting. Sources describe it as an oil‑on‑panel landscape with religious content, attributed to Tobias Verhaecht (and Gillis Coignet/Congnet) and dated 1598. The painting falls within the landscape and religious‑art genres, showing Saint John seated on a rock by the sea with his eagle attribute, set against a expansive sky and turbulent water. No specific condition or handling details are provided in the sources.
History & Provenance
The oil-on-panel painting *Landscape with St John the Evangelist at Patmos* was created in 1598 by Flemish artists Tobias Verhaecht and Gillis Coignet. Originating in Flanders, the work depicts the saint writing the Book of Revelation on the island of Patmos. The painting entered the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg in 1934. Prior to its acquisition by the museum, it was held in the collection of P.V. Delarov. It was transferred to the Hermitage from the Leningrad branch of the Soviet Writers' Union.
Landscape with St John the Evangelist at Patmos is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The work entered the museum's holdings in 1934, having been transferred from the Leningrad branch of the Soviet Writers' Union. Prior to this transfer, the painting belonged to the collection of P.V. Delarov.
The artwork, dated to 1598, is an oil-on-panel painting created by Tobias Verhaecht and Gillis Coignet. While specific inventory numbers are not detailed in the available records, its location within the State Hermitage Museum is well-documented as part of their Western European painting collection.
Context
Landscape with St John the Evangelist at Patmos is a Flemish oil-on-panel painting dated 1598, attributed to Tobias Verhaecht and Gillis Coignet (or Congnet). It depicts the saint writing the Book of Revelation on Patmos, accompanied by his eagle attribute, and is held in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. The painting entered the Hermitage in 1934 from the Leningrad branch of the Soviet Writers' Union, formerly belonging to the P.V. Delarov collection. Scholarly discussion of the work is limited; it is cited in the Hermitage catalogue of Western European painting (Krol & Semenova 1981, vol. II, p. 42). As a collaborative landscape with religious subject, it exemplifies the late‑16th‑century Flemish tradition of integrating narrative figures into expansive vistas.
Artist & collection
Artist
Tobias Verhaecht (1561–1631) was a painter from Antwerp in the Duchy of Brabant who primarily painted landscapes.
