# Design for St John in the Wilderness

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/design-for-st-john-in-the-wilderness-r70b80ac23681e2>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [LEONARDO da Vinci](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c>)
- Date: 1451-1500
- Technique: Red chalk on paper, 24 x 18 cm

## Commentary

In its seated motif, the figure of St John the Baptist is reminiscent of classical sculptures. The clear gesture made with the right hand, the rhetorically slightly bowed head and the way it is turned towards the observer suggest Leonardo to have been the author of this drawing, especially as the head is more vivid than that in the painting in the Louvre. In 1974, the drawing was stolen from the museum and has disappeared, making it difficult to judge nowadays.

## Related artworks

- [Adoration of the Magi](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/adoration-of-the-magi-rd80eeab15adb49>)
- [Allegory with wolf and eagle](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/allegory-with-wolf-and-eagle-r1ce516503e3f23>)
- [Anatomical studies \(larynx and leg\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/anatomical-studies-larynx-and-leg-rfef6071d0ff673>)
- [Anatomical studies of a male shoulder](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/anatomical-studies-of-a-male-shoulder-r4a9c28cc1184e4>)
- [Anatomical studies of the shoulder](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/anatomical-studies-of-the-shoulder-r45548939fd23a1>)
- [Anatomical studies](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/anatomical-studies-r008e94fdd4a852>)
- [Annunciation \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/annunciation-detail-r50b5181a2155c7>)
- [Annunciation \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/annunciation-detail-r6fc87cb3f120d9>)
- [Annunciation \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/annunciation-detail-r708de80885e43d>)
- [Annunciation \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/annunciation-detail-raa12a1f96c5408>)
- [Annunciation \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/annunciation-detail-rb27c206999eb4d>)
- [Annunciation \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/leonardo-da-vinci-r0350d435570f6c/annunciation-detail-rd1b8656f7a1e4b>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)