Young St. John the Baptist by Domenico Menconi

Masterfully carved with remarkable detail, a youthful Saint John the Baptist folds his hands in prayer in this stunning marble by the important Italian sculptor Domenico Menconi. The adolescent John is represented with his signature curly hair and shawl of camel's hair, both rendered with an astonishing lifelike texture. He is posed in a graceful contrapposto with eyes upturned, which adds a dynamic sense of movement to the work.

A ribbon at the child's feet bears the inscription "Ecce Agnus Dei," which translates to "Behold the Lamb of God," a title first used by John the Baptist in reference to Jesus. As the patron saint of Florence, many Italian sculptors—including Michelangelo—represented the saint in a variety of ways, sometimes with the Virgin and Jesus as infants and sometimes as an adult bearing a cross. Michelangelo's 1495 version was famous for being one of the earliest to represent John as a young boy of only 5 or 6 years old, a model that Menconi has chosen to follow here. Evoking childlike innocence and pure beauty, this magnificent marble displays the extraordinary technical accomplishment and neoclassical grace for which Italian sculptors of this era are so loved.

Circa 1860

38" high x 13 1/2" wide x 13" deep