Artwork
Saint John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist is a tempera painting by Cosimo Tura. It dates from 1474 and is held in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1474, this tempera panel portrays Saint John the Baptist, a central figure in Christian hagiography. Executed by Cosimo Tura, a leading painter of Ferrara’s early Renaissance, the work now belongs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The figure stands upright before a rugged landscape, clothed in a vivid red mantle over a light tunic. In his right hand he carries a bowl, a traditional attribute of the Baptist, while his left hand grips a staff, reinforcing his prophetic role.
Technique & Style
Tura employed tempera, allowing for fine detail and luminous color. The composition combines a sharply delineated foreground figure with a receding sky, distant mountains and water, creating a measured sense of depth characteristic of the Ferrara school’s early‑Renaissance aesthetic.
History & Provenance
After its creation, the painting entered private collections before being acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where it has been displayed as part of the museum’s Italian Renaissance holdings.
Context
Tura’s work reflects the burgeoning artistic identity of 15th‑century Ferrara, where local patrons encouraged a style that blended courtly elegance with the emerging naturalism of the Quattrocento.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cosmè Tura (Italian pronunciation: ; c. 1430 – 1495), also known as Il Cosmè or Cosimo Tura, was an Italian early-Renaissance (or Quattrocento) painter and considered one of the founders of the School of Ferrara. He…
