St. John the Baptist (c. 1475): Art, History and Details

St. John the Baptist (c. 1475) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491).

The work and its context

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

Martin Schongauer was among the first artists to work extensively in engraving to create series such as the one depicting the saints. Here, he represented Saint John the Baptist as a thin ascetic man holding a book at the top of which is the Lamb of God. Schongauer's engraved lines inventively emulate different natural qualities and textures, for example the camel fur of John's robe and the spiraling locks of his hair.

Object facts

• Title: St. John the Baptist
• Date: c. 1475
• Creator attribution: Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491)
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1924.510

A detail from the museum

In his gospel, Saint John identifies Christ as the "Lamb of God," and so the saint is often portrayed holding a lamb with a cruciform staff, symbolizing Christ victorious over death.

Collection credit

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

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.