Ambrosiana

Saint John the Baptist Gian Giacomo Caprotti

Saint John the Baptist

Gian Giacomo Caprotti

  • TITLE

    : Saint John the Baptist
  • AUTHOR

    : Gian Giacomo Caprotti
  • INVENTARIO

    : 98
  • DATE

    : c. 1520
  • TYPE

    : Painting
  • TECNIQUE

    : Tempera and oil on panel
  • DIMENSIONS

    : 73 × 50.9 cm
  • SUBJECT

    : Sacred art
  • SCUOLA PITTORICA

    : 16th century Lombard painting
  • ROOM

    : Aula Leonardi

Also this painting has a troubled history of attributions: it was originally considered to be by Bernardino Luini, and then even by Leonardo, before being attributed to Leonardo’s most wayward and daring follower, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, called Salai (or Salaino), a name of Arabic origin which is said to mean “little devil”. Art historians today do not commit themselves, talking generically of a Leonardesque painter in the first quarter of the Cinquecento. The artist undoubtedly took inspiration from the Saint John the Baptist now in the Louvre, which is certainly by Leonardo, but there are some substantial differences: the cross that appears in the original is missing and the figure, which Leonardo sets against a dark background, is shown here with effeminate, almost affected features in an idyllic landscape.

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  • TITLE

    Saint John the Baptist
  • AUTHOR

    Gian Giacomo Caprotti
  • INVENTARIO

    98
  • DATE

    c. 1520
  • TYPE

    Painting
  • TECNIQUE

    Tempera and oil on panel
  • DIMENSIONS

    73 × 50.9 cm
  • SUBJECT

    Sacred art
  • SCUOLA PITTORICA

    16th century Lombard painting
  • ROOM

    Aula Leonardi

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