The Birth of St. John the Baptist

Luca Signorelli's Birth of Saint John the Baptist, painted around 1483 and now in the Louvre, Paris, depicts the Nativity of the Baptist with the characteristic strength and dynamism of his figure style. The subject of John the Baptist's birth was popular in Florence, where the Baptist was the city's patron saint. Signorelli's powerful treatment of even this intimate domestic scene demonstrates the monumental sensibility he brought to every commission.

Signorelli renders the intimate birth scene with his characteristic strong figure modeling and dynamic composition, bringing monumental physical presence to the domestic narrative of the Baptist's nativity.