St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness

Oil on panel, c. 1521-23

Francesco Ubertini, called Il Bacchiacca

Florentine, 1494–1557

A 1961 Baltimore Museum of Art catalog for an exhibition entitled, Bacchiacca and His Friends, stated that the featured artist’s work had only been seriously studied for the previous 80+ years and had never before been drawn together for a special exhibition despite the artist being described as “charming,” “ingenious,” and “a diligent painter, especially of small figures, which he did perfectly.”

On loan for this first exhibition of works by Francesco Ubertini, called Bacchiacca, was the Museum & Gallery’s painting, St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness. The painting was a 1951 accession—in the inaugural year of M&G, and it aligned well with the Collection’s focus on sacred art by the Old Masters and placed M&G in the company of other museums with works by Bacchiacca, such as the Uffizi Gallery (Florence), Getty Museum (Los Angeles), National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).

Bacchiacca came from a Florentine family of at least five other artists, including his father (a goldsmith), two brothers (painters), his son (painter) and his nephew (an embroiderer). He learned in the studio of Perugino, collaborated with his friend, Andrea del Sarto, and was peers with the most influential early Mannerists in Florence. Known for his mastery of small figure compositions, he borrowed portions from his mentor, as well as artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo, Fra Bartolommeo, and even Albrecht Dürer and other Northern European masters. He painted in the early decades of the emerging Mannerist style yet successfully married its purposeful distortions and crowded surfaces with the order and balance of the Renaissance style.

Bacchiacca was meticulous in his depictions of flora, fauna, fabrics and other small details. Some have been disdainful of Bacchiacca’s borrowing figures and other elements in his paintings, as well as his production of decorative elements for furnishings in private studies, palaces and public spaces (such as his designs for two series of tapestries now held in the Palazzo Vecchio and the permanent collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence). While some critics imply that Bacchiacca’s borrowing and his focus on small pictures reflects an incapacity for grander things, and that the use of his gifts for decorative purposes beyond the canvas (or panel) somehow cheapens his seriousness as an artist, those opinions do not reflect his estimation as an artist in his own day. In fact, these very aspects of his work speak to the breadth of his gifts, and his reputation was high enough to elevate him to the attention and payroll of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, for whom he became court painter.

Approximately 60-70% of Bacchiacca’s works have religious subjects. He painted at least three works depicting a young John the Baptist alone in the wilderness. Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael were two of the first artists to focus on John in this way, but others quickly followed their lead. Bacchiacca’s rendering of the young John was painted shortly after Raphael’s, demonstrating how quickly this trend spread among painters.

This artistic focus on John the Baptist is appropriate, given his importance in the Bible. He is one of only seven men whose very names were prophesied in Scripture before their birth. Each of the Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament) mentions John’s ministry. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets, arriving on the scene some 400 years after the final words of Malachi’s message. Preparing for, and overlapping with, Jesus’ ministry, John is also the first of the New Testament prophets.

Also unique about John is the nature of his ministry. We do not know precisely when John made the wilderness his home, but it’s clear that he was in that remote place when God called him to the message that would define the remainder of his brief ministry (Luke 3:1-6). His mission was to reach his Jewish countrymen with the announcement of Messiah’s imminent coming, calling them to repentance from their sins, followed by baptism.

Though crowds came from surrounding cities to observe his ministry, John clarified that he was not the One they were anticipating (based on Old Testament prophecies about Messiah). John said very plainly that his work was merely in preparation for and secondary to the One he proclaimed (Matthew 3:11-12; John 3:25-30). His entire purpose was to point his listeners to Jesus (John 2:29-31, 35-37).

Like M&G’s St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness, artists often represent John with easily recognizable clues to his identity (referred to as iconography in art). These are drawn both from specific biblical passages about John and distilled themes from his ministry. Scripture passages about John mention that he was clothed in camel’s hair, a leather belt, in a wilderness setting. Bacchiacca and his peers at times had to depict things beyond their personal experience, such as a garment made from the skin of animals they didn’t know, employing something more familiar (perhaps a leopard or cheetah skin in place of camel’s hair).

Other identifiers of John in this painting need a bit of investigation:

• There are two deer: These likely refer to the psalmist’s comparison of his soul’s thirst for God to deer who pant for a spring (Psalm 42:1-2).
• A spring of water, a cup, and a river: These refer to John’s signature ministry of baptizing all who heeded his call to repentance. Also pivotal is John’s baptism of Jesus Christ, which was requested by Christ Himself, despite the protestations of John that he, not Jesus, stood in need of baptism (Matthew 3:13-17).
• A cross made of reeds: This refers to a specific exchange between Jesus and his audience (Matthew 11:7), in which Jesus asks his audience what they expected to witness when they flocked to the Jordan River to see John. John’s entire ministry had pointed to Jesus the Messiah and now, when John was in prison and asked for reassurance about Christ, Jesus tells the crowd that John was not weak or buffeted like a reed. On the contrary, John’s whole ministry, which was always based upon God’s revelations to John about Jesus’ identity, pointed unbendingly to the Lamb that would be slain for sin.

A collection of sacred art has tremendous value, with viewers’ appreciation growing with their understanding of each piece. Works of art have always elucidated each artist’s era. Sacred artworks, when based accurately on God’s Word, can also deepen biblical understanding. They can expose our needs, deepen our affections, and exhilarate our souls—the very purpose and mission of M&G.

Dr. Stephen B. Jones, M&G volunteer

Sources

virtualuffizi.com

britishmuseum.org

Breeskin, A., Rosenthal, G., and Merritt, H. S. (1961). Bacchiacca and his Friends: Florentine Paintings and Drawing of the Sixteenth Century.

Wright, Christopher. (1992). The World’s Master Paintings from the Early Renaissance to the Present Day; A ComprehensiveLlisting of Works by 1300 Painters and a Complete Guide to Their Locations Worldwide. Routledge, England

Brinkmann Pimentel, U. M., Peterson, E. A., Seiner, M. A., & Garrett, M. (2000). Italian Art at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Nolan, John M., Hess, Donnalynn, and Jones, Stephen B. (2001). John the Baptist and the Baroque Vision.Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery, Inc.

Published 2026