The Witness of John the Baptist

The Witness of John the Baptist by the Master of San Torpe, an anonymous Pisan painter active in the early 14th century, depicts the Baptist's role as the forerunner who testified to Christ's divinity. The Master of San Torpe takes his name from the church of San Torpe in Pisa and represents the continuation of the local Pisan painting tradition during the period when Giotto's innovations were beginning to transform artistic practice across Tuscany.

Executed in egg tempera on gold ground panel, the work shows the Pisan school's characteristic blend of Byzantine-derived linear formality with early Gothic expressiveness. The figures display the somewhat rigid proportions and strong contours typical of provincial Tuscan painting of the period, with careful attention to the Baptist's iconic attributes.