St John the Baptist

religious

The emaciated and mystical figure of St John the Baptist rises above the rocks; the ledge on which John stands seems to melt away as we watch. The foreground and background are separated by line that makes the latter look almost like a backdrop.

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About the Artist

Ercole de' Roberti

1456 – 1494

Italian painter, active mainly in Ferrara. He succeeded Cosmè Tura as court painter to the Este in 1486, but little is known of his life. Earlier he appears to have assisted Frencesco Cossa for some years, and with Cossa and Tura he ranks as the leading artist of the 15th century Ferrarese school. The only picture reasonably certainly his is the altarpiece with a Madonna Enthroned with Saints (1480) painted for Santa Maria in Porto at Ravenna and now in the Brera, Milan. Other works, however, can be confidently given to him because of his distinctive style.

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