The Baptism of St. John
1626
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
About the artist
Artist
Francesco Villamena
Francesco Villamena (1564–1624) was an Italian engraver, drawing teacher and art collector.
See the richer artist page1626
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
The Baptism of St. John is a 1626 by Francesco Villamena, a Baroque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This print shows a group of people in a dramatic scene by water. A man in the center stands barefoot, arms raised, while another pours water over his head. Around them, others watch—some dressed in robes, a child clutched in one woman’s arms. The background has trees and rocky ground, and the whole scene feels tense and active. Notice how the artist uses light and shadow to make the figures pop off the page. The contrast between dark and light helps draw your eye to the main action. Look up chiaroscuro next to see how this technique works in other art.
The etching *The Baptism of St. John* by Francesco Villamena, dated 1626, depicts a biblical scene on paper using the intaglio technique. It is part of a series of twenty prints illustrating scriptural subjects, derived from Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican’s Loggie, often called the *Raphael Bible*. The composition translates Raphael’s painted narrative into a graphic medium, preserving the religious subject matter in a reproducible format.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Francesco Villamena (1564–1624) was an Italian engraver, drawing teacher and art collector.
See the richer artist page
