St. John the Baptist Pointing to Christ
17th century
Medium
Point of brush and brown ink and wash over traces of black chalk, framing line in point of the brush and brown wash
Dimensions
sheet: 11 1/16 x 8 13/16 in. (28.1 x 22.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisah Whittelsey Fund and Renée Sacks Bequest, 2006
Accession Number
2006.300
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the 17th century, Dutch artist Willem van Oord crafted this evocative drawing, *St. John the Pointing to Christ*, a pivotal biblical moment. Saint John, the precursor to Jesus, gestures toward Christ child amid a wooded landscape, blending spiritual narrative with natural elements like trees. Executed on a modest sheet measuring 11 1/16 x 8 13/16 inches, the work exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age's fascination with religious themes and detailed observation of the natural world. Oordt employed a sophisticated mixed-media technique: traces of black chalk for initial underdrawing, layered with...