Panel with the Birth of St. John the Baptist from Retable

Art Historical Context

This vibrant panel, painted by the Spanish artist Domingo Ram in the th century, captures the miraculous *Birth of St. John Baptist* as part of a larger retable, or altarpiece, destined for a church setting. Created using tempera on wood with a shimmering gold ground—a hallmark of late Gothic Spanish painting—the work measures 37-1/2 by 28 inches and exemplifies the era's devotion to religious narrative. Housed in The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it Valencia's rich tradition of panel painting, where artists like Ram blended intricate detail with spiritual symbolism. The scene ...

About the Artist

Domingo Ram · 1464–1507

Domingo Ram (active 1464–1507) stands as the preeminent figure of late medieval Aragonese painting in the Calatayud region of Spain, where he documented his activity from Maluenda to surrounding locales. A master of Gothic retables, Ram led a prolific workshop that shaped local artistic production during the transition from the Middle Ages. Though his early life and training remain undocumented, h...