The Head of Saint John the Evangelist
c. 1580
Medium
oil on paper lined with linen
Dimensions
overall: 42 x 31.7 cm (16 9/16 x 12 1/2 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1979.11.1
Art Historical Context
Federico Barocci’s *The Head of Saint John the Evangelist* (c. 1580) offers an intimate glimpse into the working methods of one of late-Renaissance Italy’s most admired painters. Executed in oil on paper that was later lined with linen, the modestly scaled sheet—roughly 42 by 32 centimeters—functions as both drawing and painted study. Barocci, active in Urbino, frequently used this hybrid technique to explore color, light, and expression before committing to large-scale altarpieces. The work’s quiet intensity reflects the devotional aims of Counter-Reformation art, inviting viewers to contemp...
About the Artist
Federico Barocci · 1535–1612
Federico Barocci (c. 1535–1612) was an Italian painter from Urbino whose luminous, emotionally tender religious paintings made him one of the most original and influential artists of the late sixteenth century, bridging Mannerism and the early Baroque. Born in Urbino, the city of Raphael, he studied under Battista Franco and traveled to Rome, where he absorbed the lessons of Raphael, Correggio, an...