Portrait Of A Noble Girl In The Role Of Saint John The Baptist - 16th Century

Portrait of a noble girl in the role of Saint John the Baptist
French School
Oil on canvas
Period end of '500
Canvas 99 x 67  frame 113 x 81

This interesting painting portrays a very young Saint John the Baptist who, while still a child, is addressing a intense gaze directly towards the viewer. The painting presents the peculiarities of the Flemish of the late 1500s with an evident reference to French portraiture, so much so that the face of the protagonist takes on the features of court ladies. The result is a child San Giovanni with a "vain aspect" "with an unlikely hairstyle for the hieratic canons of the character. It is this intriguing peculiarity that makes the work fascinating and very pleasant, probably commissioned for a private room. It is in fact the Portrait of a noble girl in the guise of St. John Baptist sitting next to his lamb with a "Greca" tunic and shoes on his feet. The painting was relined in the 'nineteenth century and is in an excellent state of conservation with still bright colors and a very healthy pictorial layer.