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Lot Essay
The present drawing can be dated to around 1645, and is one of Claude's earliest depictions of Saint John the Baptist. The scene is from the Book of Matthew 3:1-2:
'Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".'
The shaggy garb St. John is wearing in the drawing refers to the camel's hair clothes also described in Matthew 3:4.
While the subject of Saint John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness would seem to lend itself to Claude's output of pastoral subjects, it is interesting to note that there are no paintings of him by Claude, only drawings. The earliest sheet is at Chatsworth, and has much larger figures (M. Roethlisberger, Claude Lorrain: The drawings, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1968, I, p. 258, no. 663; II, fig. 663). Four other drawings put a much greater emphasis on the landscape (Roethlisberger, 1968, op. cit., I, pp. 293-295, nos. 772-775; II, figs. 772-775).
The composition of this drawing lies between the two extremes, with John standing under a tree preaching to figures sitting on a rocky promontory, all in the middle ground. It is also the smallest drawing of the subject. It is distinct from his other drawings of John preaching through its emphasis on the vast sky which takes up very nearly half the composition and is dramatically rendered with subtle handling of the grey wash. The other drawings have backgrounds full of dense foliage, hilly landscapes or even classical buildings. Here, the impressive expanse of the background is emphasized over the specific elements of the landscape. The setting was created for narrative clarity and drama, relatively rare in Claude's construction of his compositions where so often a meticulously created landscape is populated by unobtrusive figures.
Marcel Roethlisberger has confirmed the attribution of the drawing to the present owners in 1984 (written correspondence), and more recently in an email (8 December 2015).
'Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".'
The shaggy garb St. John is wearing in the drawing refers to the camel's hair clothes also described in Matthew 3:4.
While the subject of Saint John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness would seem to lend itself to Claude's output of pastoral subjects, it is interesting to note that there are no paintings of him by Claude, only drawings. The earliest sheet is at Chatsworth, and has much larger figures (M. Roethlisberger, Claude Lorrain: The drawings, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1968, I, p. 258, no. 663; II, fig. 663). Four other drawings put a much greater emphasis on the landscape (Roethlisberger, 1968, op. cit., I, pp. 293-295, nos. 772-775; II, figs. 772-775).
The composition of this drawing lies between the two extremes, with John standing under a tree preaching to figures sitting on a rocky promontory, all in the middle ground. It is also the smallest drawing of the subject. It is distinct from his other drawings of John preaching through its emphasis on the vast sky which takes up very nearly half the composition and is dramatically rendered with subtle handling of the grey wash. The other drawings have backgrounds full of dense foliage, hilly landscapes or even classical buildings. Here, the impressive expanse of the background is emphasized over the specific elements of the landscape. The setting was created for narrative clarity and drama, relatively rare in Claude's construction of his compositions where so often a meticulously created landscape is populated by unobtrusive figures.
Marcel Roethlisberger has confirmed the attribution of the drawing to the present owners in 1984 (written correspondence), and more recently in an email (8 December 2015).