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Diego Velázquez, 'Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos', 1618-19

About the work

On the Greek island of Patmos, Saint John the Evangelist had a vision of the Woman of the Apocalypse, which he recorded in the New Testament Book of Revelation. Here he sits with an oversized book in his lap, his quill pen poised, and looks towards the tiny illuminated female figure hovering in the clouds above him.

She is accompanied by a dragon – the devil – ready, according to Saint John, to devour her baby as soon as it is born. She is given wings, faintly visible behind her, to escape.

This woman is often understood to be the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. The vision is associated with the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, the belief that Mary was herself conceived without sin. This painting is paired with The Immaculate Conception, which shows the Virgin standing on a moon and surrounded by stars, like in the vision we see here. Both are among Velázquez’s earliest known works.

Key facts

Full title
Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos
Artist
Diego Velázquez
Artist dates
1599 - 1660
Part of the series
Two Paintings for the Shod Carmelites, Seville
Date made
1618-19
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
135.5 × 102.2 cm
Acquisition credit
Bought with a special grant and contributions from The Pilgrim Trust and the Art Fund, 1956
Inventory number
NG6264
Location
Room 30
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
16th-century Italian Frame

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.

About the series: Two Paintings for the Shod Carmelites, Seville

Diego Velázquez, 'Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos', 1618-19

Velázquez painted these two works as companion pieces during his early career in Seville, in around 1618. They were perhaps intended to promote the recent celebrations in the city of a papal decree defending the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, the belief that the Virgin Mary was conceived without sin.

We don't know who commissioned The Immaculate Conception and Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos, but they are first recorded in 1800 in the chapter house of the Convent of the Shod Carmelite Order in Seville.

Saint John and the Virgin both appear in the foreground, surrounded by objects identifying who they are, strongly illuminated from the top left. The colours of the Virgin’s clothes are echoed in reverse in Saint John’s, and both paintings demonstrate Velázquez’s skill in conveying a strong contrast between light and shade.

Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos
Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos
Diego Velázquez
On the Greek island of Patmos, Saint John the Evangelist had a vision of the Woman of the Apocalypse, which he recorded in the New Testament Book of Revelation. Here he sits with an oversized book in his lap, his quill pen poised, and looks towards the tiny illuminated female figure hovering in t...
Room 30
The Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception
Diego Velázquez
A young woman floats above a landscape, standing on a translucent moon and with a crown of 12 stars. This imagery is based on the New Testament Book of Revelation. In it, Saint John the Evangelist records his vision of the Woman of the Apocalypse, who bears a male child and is threatened by a dra...
Room 30

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Philip IV hunting Wild Boar (La Tela Real)
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The Toilet of Venus ('The Rokeby Venus')
The Toilet of Venus ('The Rokeby Venus')
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You've viewed 6 of 7 works