Saint John the Baptist

Caravaggio painted multiple versions of Saint John the Baptist throughout his career. This late version, from around 1610, shows the young prophet in the wilderness with his traditional attribute of a lamb. John's pose echoes the ignudi (nude figures) on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.

The red drapery provides the only color against John's flesh and the dark background. Caravaggio's late style shows looser brushwork than his earlier, tightly painted works. This painting may have been among those Caravaggio carried with him when he died in 1610, hoping to present them to Cardinal Borghese in exchange for a pardon. It hangs in the Borghese Gallery.