Spanish school; late 18th century. "Birth of Saint John", Gouache on paper adhered to canvas. It presents frame of period redorado and later copete

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OLD MASTERS

By Setdart Auction House

Oct 20, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-10-20 07:30:00 2021-10-20 07:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : OLD MASTERS https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7700
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• Lot Description
  Spanish school; late 18th century. "Birth of Saint John", Gouache on paper adhered to canvas. It presents frame of period redorado and later copete. Measurements: 28,5 x 21,5 cm; 52 x 36 cm (frame). The Gospels say about John the Baptist that he was the son of the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth, cousin of the Virgin Mary. He retired at a very young age to the Judean desert to lead an ascetic life and preach penance, and recognised in Jesus, who was baptised by him, the Messiah foretold by the prophets. A year after Christ's baptism, in the year 29, John was arrested and imprisoned by the tetrarch of Galilee Herod Antipas, whose marriage to Herodias, his niece and sister-in-law, he had dared to censure. Finally St. John was beheaded, and his head given to Salome as a reward for his beautiful dances. This saint appears in Christian art in two different guises: as a child, a playmate of Jesus, and as an adult, an ascetic preacher. In Eastern art, Saint John appears dressed in a camel-skin sackcloth, which in the West was replaced by a sheepskin that leaves his arms, legs and part of his torso bare. The red cloak he wears at times, as well as in the scene of his intercession at the Last Judgement, alludes to his martyrdom. In Byzantine art he is depicted as a large-winged angel, with his severed head on a tray which he holds in his hands. However, his attributes in Western art are very different. The most frequent is a lamb, alluding to Jesus Christ, and he often carries a cross of reeds with a phylactery with the inscription "Ecce Agnus Dei".
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