Giorgio Schiavone, 'Saint John the Baptist', probably 1456-61
About the work
Overview
A saint dressed in an animal skin stands on a marble plinth, holding a cross and a scroll. This is John the Baptist, the biblical hermit saint.
John was usually shown in a camel-hair shirt with long hair and a beard, alluding to the years he spent in the desert, punishing his body with uncomfortable clothes and poor food to bring himself closer to God. On his scroll you can see parts of the Latin phrase ‘Ecce Agnus Dei’ (‘Behold the Lamb of God’) with which he identified Christ as the Messiah.
This panel formed part of the lower tier of a large polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece). It was painted between about 1456 and 1461 by Giorgio Schiavone for the funerary chapel of the wealthy Roberti family in the church of San Nicolò in Padua.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Saint John the Baptist
- Artist
- Giorgio Schiavone
- Artist dates
- 1436/7 - 1504
- Part of the series
- S. Niccolò Altarpiece, Padua
- Date made
- probably 1456-61
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 72 × 25.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1860
- Inventory number
- NG630.5
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools’, London 1986 and supplemented by Anna McGee; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2022Donatello, the RenaissancePalazzo Strozzi19 March 2022 - 31 July 2022Victoria and Albert Museum11 February 2023 - 11 June 2023
Bibliography
-
1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
-
1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
-
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.
Images
About the series: S. Niccolò Altarpiece, Padua

Overview
This two-tier altarpiece was painted between about 1456 and 1461 for the funerary chapel of the wealthy Roberti family in the church of San Nicolò in Padua. Its altar was dedicated to the Franciscan missionary Bernardino of Siena, seen among the full-length saints in the lower tier. He was canonised in 1450, shortly before Giovanni de Roberti left funds in his will for the chapel’s construction.
Other saints were chosen for their special significance for members of the Roberti family. John the Baptist was the name saint of Giovanni de Roberti. His sons Antonio and Piero were represented by Anthony of Padua and Peter Martyr, who were also the patron saints of Padua. The altarpiece must have had an elaborate original frame, which has been lost.
The illusory label attached to the base of the Virgin’s throne in the centre panel identifies the altarpiece as the work of Giorgio Schiavone, a disciple of Francesco Squarcione. ‘Schiavone’ means ‘the Slavonian’, referring to the fact that the artist came from Dalmatia (in modern-day Croatia).