17th Century Saint John The Evangelist

17th century

Saint John the evangelist

Polychrome wooden panel, cm 31 x 55

The wooden polychrome panel, from the seventeenth century, depicts the apostle Saint John the Evangelist with the pen in his hand with which he wrote the Book of Revelation. The eagle in front of him symbolizes the divine inspiration, which he received on the island of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, where he had been exiled by the emperor Domitian.

Young, graceful, without a beard, with long hair falling down on his shoulders, he appears here in the version of the young apostle, almost feminine, in stark contrast to the image of the elderly man with the grey beard of the Evangelist’s iconography. Very naturalistic and immediate appears the rendering by the sculptor of the figure: the look appears intense and absorbed, the head slightly stretched forward while the arm raised with the folded hand indicates the beginning of the sacred scripture. The eagle, with its vigorous plumage, seems to have arrived recently, with the wings and the legs open and the head, with the bill pronounced, turned downwards. Fully baroque is the way to treat the drapery of the mantle: drooping folds, bustling, waving that give dynamism and theatricality to the scene, according to the most expensive styles of the seventeenth century. Remarkable, finally, is the polychromy of this plastic relief: the colors, warm and precious, chase each other in the predominant tones of gold, green, red. The mantle and the robe of John are decorated with ornamental motifs, graffiti according to motifs in circles, which are repeated on the entire fabric.

The golden frame also framing prospectively the top from which, as in the ancient reliefs of the classical age, the profiles and volumes of San Giovanni and the eagle are detached. 


With Ars Antiqua you can defer all amounts up to a maximum of € 7,500 at ZERO RATE, for a total of 15 INSTALLMENTS.

Ex. Tot. € 4,500 = Monthly installment € 300 for 15 months.

Ex. Tot. € 3,600 = Monthly installment € 720 for 5 months.

For amounts over €7,500 or for a longer grace period (over 15 installments), we can provide a custom payment.

Contact us directly to get the best quote.

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