Spanish School, circa 1580 – Saint John the Evangelist – Oil on panel – 16th century

Spanish School, last third of the 16th century, circa 1575-1585
Saint John the Evangelist Blessing the Poisoned Cup
Oil on panel.

53 × 38.5 cm
This Spanish Renaissance painting depicts Saint John the Evangelist, shown young and beardless in accordance with Western iconographic tradition.
In his left hand, the saint holds a chalice from which a small dragon emerges, while his right hand makes a gesture of blessing.
This iconography refers to an episode from the apocryphal tradition of Saint John, taken up and widely disseminated in the Middle Ages by the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine. According to the story, while John was preaching in Ephesus, the pagan priest Aristodemus presented him with a cup containing deadly poison to test his faith. John blessed the cup and then drank its contents without suffering any harm. In Western artistic tradition, poison is symbolized by a serpent or a small dragon emerging from the chalice, thus becoming one of the characteristic attributes of Saint John.

The deliberately uncluttered composition focuses all attention on the figure of the saint. The youthful face with its fair complexion, the curly hair, the linear treatment of the drapery, and the figure standing out against a uniform dark background still fully testify to Renaissance culture. The work likely belongs to a Spanish workshop from the last third of the 16th century, influenced by Italian models then widely circulated in the Iberian Peninsula.
The painting has recently undergone conservation cleaning, which has restored the luminosity of the flesh tones and the depth of the colors.
Presented in an antique molded and gilded wooden frame, which has undergone occasional re-gilding.
Condition: Good overall condition considering its age. Wear, old restorations, and irregularities consistent with a work of this period. The panel features old reinforcing crossbars on the reverse.

Dimensions: panel without frame 53 × 38.5 cm.

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