St. John the Baptist

This is a copy, in the same direction, after the painting by Titian, formerly in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Venice, but since 1807 in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence.

The theme of St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness, shown as a solitary figure against a dark rocky landscape, was a popular one in the Renaissance. Leonardo, Raphael, and Titian all treated the subject in the sixteenth century. The saint was the patron of the city of Florence and was popular among its donors.