Saint John the Baptist
1550s
Medium
etching with engraving on laid paper, laid down on blue paper
Dimensions
plate: 18.4 × 28.7 cm (7 1/4 × 11 5/16 in.) sheet: 19.1 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.) mount: 25.2 × 31.9 cm (9 15/16 × 12 9/16 in.) (all unevenly cut)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Purchased as the Gift of Robert B. Loper
Accession Number
2016.18.1
About the Artist
Battista Franco · 1510–1561
Battista Franco, known as il Semolei, was born in Venice around 1510, though his career unfolded largely in Rome and at the courts of central and northern Italy. He came to Rome in his twenties and immediately fell under two powerful spells: the inexhaustible riches of classical antiquity and the overwhelming presence of Michelangelo. Franco spent years making drawings after ancient sculptures and...