Getty Museum

Saint John the Baptist

Date: about 1740
Medium: Charcoal heightened with white opaque watercolor, on prepared blue paper
Culture: Spanish
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum
Object ID: 0d5f69a6-b2a7-4def-b714-230cd17a6349

From the Getty Museum record

On striking blue prepared paper, this academic figure study is posed as Saint John the Baptist. Seen from below, suggesting that the model stood on a raised platform, the saint looms large. The artist modeled his figure using the blue as a middle tone. Charcoal and white watercolor forcefully articulate the anatomical form of the saint, and convey his powerful presence. The saint's musculature is dramatically portrayed in gritty black lines built up in bold succession. The summary treatment of the drapery, executed in broad, jagged strokes, gives the saint's clothing an abstract quality that reiterates the drawing's primary purpose as a study of the male body. On close examination, the charcoal's rough texture reflects glints of light, creating a seamless marriage between medium, technique, and subject.

View at Getty Museum ↗

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page

See at Getty Museum