Saint John the Baptist, c. 1505, Benedetto da Rovezzano, Italian, c. 1474–1552, 19 11/16 x 16 1/4 x 8 3/4 in. (50 x x cm), Terra cotta, Italy, 16th century, During the Renaissance, busts of Saint John the Baptist as a boy were commonly displayed in Florentine homes. Saint John’s fine and innocent face and curly hair embody the ideal of youthful beauty at that time. Benedetto da Rovezzano made this bust in Florence when Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo were leading the artistic scene in town. When Michelangelo left for Rome in 1508 to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling

---

Size: 5693px × 6033px
Location:
Photo credit: © Penta Springs / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1474–1552, 1505, 1508, 16th, ability, artistic, asked, baptist, beauty, benedetto, boy, bronze, bust, busts, ceiling, century, chapel, commonly, cotta, courts, curly, da, david, displayed, embody, england, face, fine, finish, florence, florentine, france, hair, homes, ideal, innocent, instrumental, italian, italy, john, leading, left, leonardo, lost, michelangelo, paint, raphael, renaissance, rome, rovezzano, royal, saint, scene, sistine, spreading, terra, testament, time, town, vinci, worked, youthful, —