Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
Preferred Title:
Birth of the Baptist
Alternate Title:
Zechariah Writes John's Name
Image View:
Detail; midwife with the swaddled baby, Elizabeth in bed and Zechariah writing John's name
Creator:
Andrea del Sarto (Italian painter, 1486-1530)
Location:
repository: Chiostro dello Scalzo (Florence, Tuscany, Italy)
Location Note:
Via Camillo Benso Cavour, 69
GPS:
43.779619 11.259464
Date:
1526 (creation)
Cultural Context:
Italian
Style Period:
Mannerist (Renaissance-Baroque style); Renaissance
Work Type 1:
fresco (painting)
Classification:
painting
Material:
pigment on plaster
Technique:
fresco painting (technique); grisaille
Measurements:
194 cm (height, approx., each panel) x 201 cm (width, approx., each panel)
Relation Work:
partOf Cloister of the Scalzo Fresco Cycle
Description:
This is the third scene in the chronological story of John the Baptist, but the scenes were not painted in order. In 1526 Del Sarto filled in the last remaining space on the east wall; the final fresco of the Birth of the Baptist. The iconography comes from the Gospel of Luke. The Archangel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and announced that he and his wife would give birth to a child, and that they should name him John. However, because Zechariah did not believe the message of Gabriel, he was rendered speechless until the time of John's birth. At that time, his relatives wanted to name the child after his father, and Zechariah wrote, "His name is John", whereupon he recovered his ability to speak. Following Zechariah's obedience to the command of God, he was given the gift of prophecy, and foretold the future ministry of John. (Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Main_Page)
Collection:
Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
Identifier:
6A1-SARTO-CS-S3-A04
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Birth of the Baptist