Saint John the Baptist

About the Artwork

This statuette belongs to a group of terracotta sculptures representing David (from the OldTestament) and Saint John (from the New Testament) produced by a still unidentified Florentine artist and his studio in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Giventheir scale, it seems likely that these sculptures were intended for use in private homes rather than churches.

Exhibition history

Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943). Art and Humanism in the Renaissance. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 23-February 25, 1962). Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971). Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975). Myth and Faith in Renaissance Florence: The sculpture of Giovan Angelo Montorsoli and his circle. Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH (organizer) (October 13, 2018-January 21, 2019).

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Master of the Saint John Statuettes (Italian)
Date: c. 1500–1525
Medium: terracotta with traces of polychromy
Dimensions: Overall: 72.1 x 33 x 24 cm (28 3/8 x 13 x 9 7/16 in.)
Type: Sculpture
Classification: Sculpture
Department: European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Bequest of John L. Severance
Accession no.: 1942.781

Open-access museum record · AT-00010688