The Columbus Museum of Art, located on East Broad Street downtown Columbus, features an interesting collection of pieces of art from great artists of all times such as Picasso, Monet, Rembrandt, etc. From all the painting that I have seen, only the XVII century St John the Baptist by Jacob Jordaens (Jordaens, 1617) really caught my attention. The painting is one of the major Flemish paintings presented by the Columbus Museum of Art and that illustrates a man who is willing to preach his religion. Therefore, I have decided to consecrate this paper to this piece of art of the Renaissance period, which is, I believe, a reflection to the myth of religion. I will first present the artist, his artistic period and style secondly, and then I will concentrate on the painting itself.
According to the Journal of Medieval & Early Modern Studies, written by Davis, A. (2010), the Renaissance is an artistic movement that began in Italy in the XIII century and later spread to the rest of Europe. The most famous artists of this movement who had a serious impact on others were Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo Da Vinci. This movement gave value to human form, to reality. In French, the word Renaissance means: New Birth. We can easily relate it to a religious point of view, were you are born again after your baptism. Jacob Jordaens (1593 – 1678) was a major Flemish artist of the Renaissance period. Son of a wealthy linen merchant, Jordaens was one of the three Flemish Baroque painters along with Rubens and Van Dyck, and was influence by Renaissance’s northern Italian painters such as the great Caravaggio whom he studied the work without going to Italy (Jacob Jordaens - The Complete Work). His style focuses on historical, mythological and biblical figures. This is a reason why the portrait of St. John the Baptist should not be a surprise. The painting of St. John the Baptist as Jordaens portrayed it is in a gold colored wooden panel frame. Jordaens used a thick painting brush and applied watercolor with oil on the panel, which gives some kind of brightness to the surface of the portrait. John the Baptist representation is with a nude chest, which translates the importance of the beauty of the human form for Jacob Jordaens.
On the painting, John the Baptist has a red beard that makes him look like a middle-aged man, who I think, is symbol of maturity according to my background. He seemed to be clothed with some type of animal’s skin, which I could assume was camel hair as it is in the Bible on the verse 6 of chapter 1 of the Gospel of St. Mark (St. Mark). John the Baptist is a character of the New Testament and a Christian religious figure. He is supposed to have lived in Mesopotamia around the first century and he is depicted in the Gospels as the one sent by God to prepare the people to receive the Messiah, Jesus-Christ. He was a preacher and had for message that the Kingdom of Heaven was close and argued that in order for people to get saved they needed to change their way of life and get baptized. I believe this is what Jordaens was trying to show to us. Indeed, the expression on John the Baptist’s face describes him looking with seriousness like trying to give them a message. He is the strong representation of God, looking at you with seriousness and authority then tells you about bad thing you have done and gives you advice on how to behave better. In addition, St John the Baptist is holding a staff in his right hand, which appears to be some type of flag displaying Latin characters that seems to be delivering a message. (Jacob Jordaens - The Complete Work).
Jacob Jordaens is one of the three Flemish Baroque artists and one of the most famous Flemish artists of the Renaissance movement. The importance he accorded to religion (Christianity) is the reason why I associate his work with the myth of religion. Other of his painting show his particular interest for religion, such as: The Coronation of The Virgin by the Holy Trinity; The Holy Family with St. Anne, the Young Baptist and his Parent; and The Four Evangelists . St John the Baptist exhibited at the Columbus Museum of Art is the painting I have chosen for my study. It was completed by the artist in 1617 and shows the preacher who seems like he has an important message to deliver. I can then affirm this painting is a great piece of artwork of the Renaissance era.
References
Mark, Gospel according to. (2010). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..
Jacob Jordaens. (2010). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Jacob Jordaens - The Complete Work. (n.d). Retrieved 12 05, 2010, from: http://www.jacobjordaens.org/biography.html
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