St. John Preaching in the Desert
1535–55
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
4 15/16 x 7 5/16 in. (12.6 x 18.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.185
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-16th century, the elegant Mannerist phase of the French Renaissance, artists Luca Penni and Jean Mignon collaborated on *St. John Preaching in Desert*, an exquisite etching from around 1535–55. Penni, an Italian-born painter who worked at the Fontainebleau court under Francis I, and Mignon, a skilled French printmaker, drew from the innovative School of Fontainebleau This movement blended Italian Renaissance grace with French sophistication, producing intricate designs that spread royal tastes through affordable prints. The scene captures the biblical prophet St. John the Baptist g...
About the Artist
Luca Penni|Jean Mignon · 1500–1557
Comment on works: Religious