Getty Museum
Saint John the Evangelist
Creator
Egerton MasterFrench Illuminator · 1405–1420
All works by this person →The Egerton Master gets his name from a manuscript in the British Library with the shelfmark *Egerton 1070*--a book of hours. This artist may have been Netherlandish by birth, but his career as we know it began in Paris. There he collaborated with many of the most important manuscript illuminators of the period, including the Boucicaut Master and the Master of the Brussels Initials. His work also
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1410
- Medium
- Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
- Object ID
- faf50db4-a6e1-4b4b-a1b1-28c3e0155ea0
Holding a chalice full of writhing snakes, Saint John the Evangelist stands on a narrow strip of green and gold floor and against a complex red, blue, gold, and white background. The power of the man is conveyed by his size and further emphasized by the volume of his orange robe, which extends from his waist to the fluttering piece of drapery at his shoulder. The snakes are a reference to the legend that John drank from a poisoned cup offered to him by pagan priests as a test of his faith. The figure's power is a visual expression of the fortitude of that faith confronting evil.
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