Art Institute of Chicago
Saint John the Baptist Preaching in the Desert
Jean Baptiste Henri Deshays (French, 1729–1765)
- Date
- c. 1758–64
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Culture
- France
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
A precocious talent, Jean-Baptiste Deshays married Rococo artist François Boucher’s daughter and became his father-in-law’s protégé. Although best known as a painter of religious subjects, Deshays often employed the soft, highly fluid manner that Boucher used for his amorous “boudoir” pictures. In fact, this work was for a long time believed to be by Boucher. The subject of the painting derives from the Gospel of Matthew: Seated before the multitude with his arms dramatically outstretched, John the Baptist warns, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
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Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300033618
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