Saint John the Evangelist (1450–1475): Art, History and Details

Saint John the Evangelist (1450–1475) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The saint holds the legendary chalice, a poisoned cup, from which emerges a dragon, representing the serpent (Satan), recalling the incident in which John was forced to drink poison to test the power of his faith. John survived the test unharmed. It has been suggested that this statuette derives from a large multitiered baptismal font with niche figures in the Church of Notre-Dame in the town of Hal.

Object facts

• Title: Saint John the Evangelist
• Date: 1450–1475
• Culture: South Netherlands, probably Malines, 15th century
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: gilt bronze or brass
• Dimensions: without base: 29.9 x 11.8 cm (11 3/4 x 4 5/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1951.315

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.