St. John the Baptist as a Young Man thumbnail 1
St. John the Baptist as a Young Man thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

St. John the Baptist as a Young Man

Bust
ca. 1500 (carved)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This bust, which has been claimed as an early work by Leonardo da Vinci, has been generally associated with the workshop of Verocchio. However, the resemblances to Verrocchio are not sufficiently close to support this, and the bust probably dates from the beginning of the 16th century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSt. John the Baptist as a Young Man (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Terracotta
Brief description
Bust, terracotta, Saint John the Baptist, by an unknown artist, Florence, ca. 1500
Physical description
The bust shows the young St. John with head turned slightly to his right. His hair is parted in the centre and is dressed in heavy curls. He wears a skin fastened on both shoulders.
Dimensions
  • Height: 41.9cm
Object history
Purchased in London at the Uzielli sale, 5l. 5s.
Historical context
This bust, which has been claimed as an early work by Leonardo da Vinci, has been generally associated with the workshop of Verocchio. However, the resemblances to Verrocchio are not sufficiently close to support this, and the bust probably dates from the beginning of the 16th century.
Subject depicted
Summary
This bust, which has been claimed as an early work by Leonardo da Vinci, has been generally associated with the workshop of Verocchio. However, the resemblances to Verrocchio are not sufficiently close to support this, and the bust probably dates from the beginning of the 16th century.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861 In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 3
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, pp. 61, 62
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, p. 206
  • Arnoldi, Franceso Negri, 'Scultura Italiana al Victoria and Albert Museum I&II. In: Commentari, anno XXI, June-July 1970. Fascicoli, pp. 212-213
Collection
Accession number
7545-1861

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest