Italian 1860s Grand Tour Carved Marble Sculpture of St. John the Baptist

YOUNG SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

After Desiderio da Settignano
Italian, circa 1860

22" H x 2" D x 9 1/2" W

Carved white marble

This relief reproduces the celebrated San Giovannino by Desiderio da Settignano in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, generally dated circa 1450 to 1455. Desiderio's original is carved in pietra serena and presents the youthful patron saint of Florence in profile wearing a halo on his head, a rough garment across his body while carrying a reed cross.

The model was widely admired and repeated in different materials, including plaster and bronze. A plaster example from 1864 is held in the permanent collection of the V&A (acc. no. REPRO.1864-12). Related versions are preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museo Horne in Florence, while nineteenth century works after Desiderio in major collections demonstrate the renewed popularity of his sculpture during the period in which the present marble was carved. (3, 4)

This example was executed in Italy during the 1860s and closely follows the Bargello composition, carefully executed from a single solid block of marble in the same narrow rectilinear format. The face and exposed shoulder are smoothly finished, while the curling hair and textured garment are treated in progressively shallower relief. The profile is beautifully undercut. A single turned bronze mounting point is set in the top of the marble.

Condition: Fine state of preservation with minor surface wear and scattered natural discoloration to the marble, including some points of rust absorption.

References:
1. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Desiderio da Settignano, San Giovannino, circa 1450 to 1455, pietra serena, inventory Sculture 61
2. Francesco Caglioti, “Desiderio da Settignano: Profiles of Heroes and Heroines of the Ancient World,” in Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence, 2007
3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Young Saint John the Baptist, after Desiderio da Settignano, object 14.40.686.
4. Museo Horne, Florence, San Giovannino, inventory Horne 122, marble replica after the Bargello relief

ref. 603DWP31A