John the Baptist (Caravaggio) Jordan, and was eventually killed by Herod Antipas when he called upon the king to reform his evil ways. John was frequently shown in Christian art, identifiable by his bowl, reed cross, camel's skin and lamb. The most popular scene prior to the Counter-Reformation was of John's baptism of Jesus, or else the infant Baptist together with the infant Jesus and Mary his mother, frequently supplemented by the Baptist's own mother St Elizabeth. John alone in the desert was less popular, but not unknown. For the young Caravaggio, John was invariably a boy or youth alone in the wilderness. This
The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist is an oil painting by Italian artist Giovanni Francesco Bezzi, also known as Nosadella, located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana. Painted roughly 1550-1560, it depicts Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and John in a powerful, Mannerist style. This depiction of the Holy Family plus St. John has many Mannerist traits: vibrant colors, exaggerated monumentality, formal complexity, and awkward composition. The figures are all massive and muscular (particularly evident in St. John's arm), then crammed together for a composition which is