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Carlo Crivelli, 'Saint John the Baptist', 1476

About the work

This striking half-naked figure is Saint John the Baptist. He comes from a large polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. Crivelli’s attention to detail is such that we can see the sinews and veins of John’s hands and feet, and the individual hairs on his head and on the inside of the skin laced around him.

John stands in wilderness of pink rocks scattered with bare trees. A clear stream flows along the front of the painting, and reeds sprout up along the water’s edge. The barren landscape and the saint’s camel-skin apron allude to the years John spent as a hermit in the desert, punishing his body with uncomfortable clothes and poor food to bring him closer to God.

Key facts

Full title
Saint John the Baptist
Artist
Carlo Crivelli
Artist dates
about 1430/5 - about 1494
Part of the group
The Demidoff Altarpiece
Date made
1476
Medium and support
egg tempera on wood
Dimensions
138.5 × 40 cm
Acquisition credit
Bought, 1868
Inventory number
NG788.2
Location
Room 10
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

About the group: The Demidoff Altarpiece

Carlo Crivelli, 'The Demidoff Altarpiece', 1476

Crivelli painted two altarpieces for the small church of San Domenico, in the town of Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. Their history is complex and intertwined. A large, double-tiered polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) sat on the high altar, while a smaller altarpiece was in a side chapel.

In the nineteenth century parts of both altarpieces were sold to a Russian prince, Anatole Demidoff, who mounted them in a grand frame to make a three-tiered altarpiece for the chapel of his villa in Florence. The whole complex is now known as the Demidoff Altarpiece.

The National Gallery bought the Demidoff Altarpiece in 1868, and in 1961 the panels from the smaller polyptych were removed. They are now displayed separately.

The Virgin and Child
The Virgin and Child
Carlo Crivelli
The Virgin, crowned and richly dressed as Queen of Heaven, sits on a marble throne. She comes from a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. A pink watered silk – a cloth of ho...
Room 10
Saint John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist
Carlo Crivelli
This striking half-naked figure is Saint John the Baptist. He comes from a large polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. Crivelli’s attention to detail is such that we can see t...
Room 10
Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Carlo Crivelli
This stern and commanding figure is Saint Peter, the first pope and one of the founders of the Catholic Church. He comes from a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. His hooded eyes...
Room 10
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Carlo Crivelli
This graceful, golden-haired princess is Saint Catherine of Alexandria, identifiable by her traditional attributes of a spiked wheel and martyr’s palm. She comes from the great polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted for the church of the Dominican Order in Ascoli Piceno in t...
Room 10
Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic
Carlo Crivelli
This saintly friar comes from a large polyptych (a many-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of church of San Domenico at Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. This is Saint Dominic himself, holding a white lily to symbolise his chastity and the book of his Rule –...
Room 10
Saint Francis
Saint Francis
Carlo Crivelli
This praying saint comes from the upper tier of a large polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. This is Saint Francis, founder of the Franciscan Order – friars who lived in towns...
Room 10
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew
Carlo Crivelli
This bearded saint is one of four in the upper tier of a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of the Dominican Church in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. He is Saint Andrew, the first Apostle, and a particular favourite of the Dominican Ord...
Room 10
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen
Carlo Crivelli
This half-length figure of a saint comes from a large polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. This is Saint Stephen, Christianity’s first martyr.Potato-like rocks – representing...
Room 10
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Carlo Crivelli
This half-length figure of a saint comes from the upper tier of a polyptych (multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted in 1476 for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. He is the theologian and Dominican friar Saint Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274)....
Room 10

More works by Carlo Crivelli

(Showing 6 of 15 works)
Altarpiece from S. Francesco dei Zoccolanti, Matelica
Altarpiece from S. Francesco dei Zoccolanti, Matelica
Carlo Crivelli
This large altarpiece was painted by Carlo Crivelli in 1491 for a family chapel in the Franciscan church in Matelica, a small town in the Italian Marches. The Ottoni were the local ruling family – you can see their coat of arms placed conspicuously on the bottom edge of the main panel.The locatio...
Not on display
La Madonna della Rondine (The Madonna of the Swallow)
La Madonna della Rondine (The Madonna of the Swallow)
Carlo Crivelli
This large panel comes from an altarpiece painted in 1491 by Carlo Crivelli. It was made for the Ottoni family chapel in the Franciscan church at Matelica, in the Italian Marches.The Virgin, to whom the chapel was dedicated, appears crowned as the Queen of Heaven, with the Christ Child on her kne...
Room 10
Predella of La Madonna della Rondine
Predella of La Madonna della Rondine
Carlo Crivelli
This predella (literally ‘platform’ or ’step‘, the bottom tier of an altarpiece) comes from a large altarpiece that Crivelli painted for the Ottoni family chapel in the Franciscan church at Matelica, in the Italian Marches.The scenes reflect the patrons’ different interests – one was a churchman,...
Room 10
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Carlo Crivelli
This graceful golden-haired princess comes from a predella, a row of scenes along the base of an altarpiece, or from the frame of an altarpiece. She is Saint Catherine, shown with her traditional attributes of a spiked wheel and a cactus-like martyr’s palm.To show off his skill with foreshortenin...
Room 10
Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome
Carlo Crivelli
This bearded cardinal once stood at the left side of a small altarpiece that Crivelli painted for a side chapel in the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. This is Saint Jerome, one of the Fathers of the Church and a favourite saint of the Dominican Order as a defender...
Not on display
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy
Carlo Crivelli
This elegant woman is Saint Lucy. She once stood on the Virgin’s left in a small altarpiece which Crivelli painted for a side chapel in the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. Lucy holds her cactus-like martyr’s palm in one hand, and a circular wooden plate in the othe...
Room 10
You've viewed 6 of 15 works