Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 'Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness', 1660-70

Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Not on display

About the work

Overview

Saint John the Baptist is shown within a rugged landscape and wearing a camel-hair tunic, alluding to the simple life he led in the wilderness, as described in the Gospel of Matthew. He holds a reed cross with a scroll coiled around the top. It bears a Latin inscription: Ecce Agnus Dei (‘Behold the Lamb of God’ – the words John spoke on meeting Christ, and a title that refers to Christ’s self-sacrifice in atoning for humanity’s sins).

John is transfixed, looking up towards heaven. He places one hand gently on his chest as he recalls his encounter with Christ. The crop of the composition – just below John’s knees – is unusual, but it is unlikely that the painting has been cut down.

The painting arrived in England, from Spain, in the early 1780s and was particularly admired by the painter Thomas Gainsborough. He bought it in 1787, the year before his death.

In-depth

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Saint John the Baptist lived in the wilderness as a young man, surviving only on locusts and wild honey, and wearing a camel-hair tunic. He spent his time baptising the people of Judea in the River Jordan and preaching the coming of Christ. Murillo rarely painted Saint John as a young man, as we see here, more often depicting him as a child accompanied by a lamb.

Saint John holds a reed cross, one of his attributes, with a scroll coiled around the top. It bears the Latin inscription ‘Ecce Agnus Dei’ (‘Behold the Lamb of God’) – words apparently spoken by John just before he baptised Christ, recognising him as the son of God (John 1: 29–34). The connection between Christ and the lamb is made again in descriptions of Christ’s crucifixion, which happened during the Jewish festival of Passover. According to the Gospels, Christ was led to his death – laying down his life to atone for humanity’s sins – at the same time as lambs were being sacrificed for Passover.

The saint is visibly perturbed: he is transfixed, his eyes wide and directed towards heaven. One hand is drawn gently to his chest as he recalls his encounter with Christ. His slightly foreshortened face and upper body are bathed in divine light. The subdued colouring of the saint’s skin tones and the landscape contrast with the golden light emanating from a break in the clouds and John’s bright red drapery. The crop of the composition – just below John’s knees – is unusual, but there is no physical evidence to suggest that the painting was originally larger and cut down at some point.

The painting arrived in England, from Spain, in the early 1780s and achieved considerable fame. It was particularly admired by Thomas Gainsborough, who bought it in 1787, a year before he died. In 1924, the National Gallery acquired it as a work by Murillo, but doubts concerning the attribution were later raised. Conservation and cleaning in 1980–1 revealed the painting’s high quality, particularly noticeable in the saint’s face and hands. It is now widely accepted that Murillo painted it.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Artist dates: 1617 - 1682
Date made: 1660-70
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 120 × 105.5 cm
Acquisition credit: Mond Bequest, 1924
Inventory number: NG3938
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

No. 3938 has been supposed to be the picture said to have been bought ca. 1670 from Don Juan del Castillo for 2,500 reales by Don Francisco Eminente for Charles II of Spain. It was, fairly certainly, brought from Spain by Richard Cumberland (i.e. in 1781); shortly afterwards it came into the hands of Noel Desenfans and was bought by Gainsborough, apparently early in 1787. After Gainsborough’s death it was exhibited for sale with his collection at Schomberg House, 30 March sqq., 1789 (lot 34), and in April, 1789, was sold to Sir Peter Burrell (later 1st Baron Gwydyr). Lord Gwydyr sale, London, 8/9 May, 1829 (2nd day, lot 84; £105), bought by Maxwell; Hon. Marmaduke Constable Maxwell sale, London, 1 March, 1873 (lot 107; £451 10sh.), bought by Rutley. Exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1877 (no. 238), lent by G. A. F. Cavendish Bentinck; G. A. F. Cavendish Bentinck sale, London, 8 sqq. July, 1891 (lot 558; £535 10sh.), bought by Richter for Dr. Ludwig Mond. Mond Bequest, 1924.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised by Allan Braham, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School’, London 1988; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2012

Murillo and Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship

Dulwich Picture Gallery

6 February 2013 - 19 May 2013

Bibliography

1785

Christie's, A Catalogue of the First Part of the Truly Superb Collection of… Pictures… the Whole Being the Sole and Genuine Property of Monsieur Desenfans, London, 11 May 1785 - 13 May 1785
1789

G. Dupont, A Catalogue of the Pictures and Drawings of the Late Mr Gainsborough, London, 30ff March 1789
1910

J.P. Richter, The Mond Collection: An Appreciation, London 1910
1912

C.J. Ffoulkes, 'Il catalogo mond', L'arte, XV, 1912, pp. 263-80
1915

W.T. Whitley, Thomas Gainsborough, London 1915
1944

'Editorial: Gainsborough's Collection of Pictures', The Burlington Magazine, LXXXIV/494, 1944, pp. 107-10
1952

Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, London 1952
1970

N. MacLaren and A. Braham, The Spanish School, 2nd edn, London 1970
1978

J.A. Gaya Nuño, L'opera completa di Murillo, Milan 1978
1980

J. Mills and R. White, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, IV, 1980, pp. 65-7
1980

National Gallery, 'Pictures Cleaned and Restored in the Conservation Department of the National Gallery, March 1980 - December 1980', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, V, 1981
1981

D.A. Íñiguez, Murillo. Su vida, su arte, su obra, Madrid 1981
1981

A. Braham, El Greco to Goya: The Taste for Spanish Paintings in Britain and Ireland (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 16 September - 9 November 1981), London 1981
1984

D. Sutton, 'Aspects of British Collecting, III.XII: A Wealth of Pictures', Apollo, CXIX/267, 1984, pp. 346-56
1988

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Allan Braham, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1988
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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You've viewed 6 of 9 works

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 'Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness', 1660-70

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo