Saint John the Baptist (Dijon)

The artwork

In the preparatory drawing the saint holds an arrow, in the painting a banner, and that is why the Dijon panel has been called at times Saint Sebastian, at times Saint John the Baptist. It comes printed on handmade Amalfi paper, in a handmade frame.

• A young saint in half-length, with the banner in his hand.
• A vertical format for a bedroom, a study, an entrance hall.
• A gift for someone called John or Sebastian, for anyone who loves sacred art.

The panel was in Vienna, in the Belvedere Gallery. In 1809 it was taken to Paris among the works seized by Napoleon, and in 1812 the Musée Napoléon assigned it to the museum in Dijon. In 1815, when Austria took back its paintings, the commissioner in charge left it to the French museums, and it has never returned since.

For a long time it was believed to be by Andrea del Sarto, then by Rosso Fiorentino. It was Paola Barocchi, in 1950, who linked it to the young Pontormo, and in 1966 Michel Laclotte and John Shearman accepted it as his. Today it is dated to around 1515.

A review of the exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, which presents it as Saint Sebastian, says that it alone is worth the trip to Rome.

In a bedroom or a study, it brings into your home a saint that Napoleon sent travelling from Vienna to France. It is the gift for anyone who loves the stories behind paintings.

Unique quality material

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in)
Framed size: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges
Frame: dark brown with a gold fillet, handmade, with glass