Icon - John the Forerunner - Wood

Russian icon of Saint John the Baptist with his head in the chalice. Russia, late 18th – early 19th century.

Saint John the Baptist is depicted half-length, holding a richly decorated chalice that contains his own decapitated head, a symbol of his martyrdom. At the bottom there is a roll preserved with a liturgical inscription in ecclesiastical Slavonic.

Executed in egg tempera on levkas and wooden panel, with a gold ground. The work presents a traditional, archaizing writing style, with an expressive modeling of the face, a fine graphic treatment of the hair and a sober color palette in ochre, brown, and green tones.

The surface retains an old patina, widespread craquelure, wear to the gilding and small losses of polychromy, especially visible in the lower left area. There may be old interventions or localized retouchings, common in a work of this age. The conservation state is clearly evident in the photographs, which are part of the description.

Dimensions: 40.5 × 33 × 3.5 cm.
Weight: 2.082 kg.