VIVARINI, Alvise
(b. 1445/46, Venezia, d. 1503/5, Venezia)

St John the Baptist

c. 1480
Tempera on wood, 137 x 53 cm
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

Originally this panel hung in the Church of San Pietro Martire on Murano. The cool crystalline palette, the subtly agitated brushwork, and the depth of the bare, timeless landscape at the feet of the Saint make this painting (together with the other panel representing St Matthew) one of the artist's most evocative works.