Saint John the Baptist
c. 1755
François Boucher, the ultimate Rococo showman and favorite painter of Madame de Pompadour, gives Saint John the Baptist a serious makeover in this 1755 piece. Instead of a gritty desert hermit, we see a glowing, muscular youth draped in luxurious red fabric and soft fur, looking more like a mythological model than a prophet. Above him, a squad of chubby cherubs peeks through the clouds and trees like heavenly paparazzi, watching him pray beside a lamb and a reed cross labeled 'Agnus Dei'. It’s a perfect example of how the 18th-century French court turned even serious religious figures into objects of sheer beauty and charm.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
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