Saint John of God
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Object Label
The unidentified artist who painted this bucolic scene, dominated by the figure of the sixteenth-century Portuguese monk Saint John of God holding the infant Christ, was part of a European-influenced painting tradition that first developed in the sixteenth century in Spanish colonial Cuzco, Peru. Delicate flowers, birds, and trees spread across the composition, unifying the saint with vignettes of the Flight into Egypt at left and other saints at right.
Eighteenth-century estate inventories in New Spain described these types of paintings as “landscapes inhabited by saints.” Although similar religious subjects hung in churches in colonial Peru, the prominence of landscape made this kind of painting equally desirable for private collectors.
Caption
Cuzco School. Saint John of God, 18th century. Oil on canvas, 39 3/4 x 59 1/2in. (101 x 151.1cm) frame: 42 5/16 x 62 1/4 x 2 1/2 in. (107.5 x 158.1 x 6.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 41.1275.190. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1275.190_PS6.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Saint John of God
Date
18th century
Period
Colonial Period
Geography
Place made: Cuzco, Peru
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
39 3/4 x 59 1/2in. (101 x 151.1cm) frame: 42 5/16 x 62 1/4 x 2 1/2 in. (107.5 x 158.1 x 6.4 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund
Accession Number
41.1275.190
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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