French, Probably Metz, Circa 1300-1320 and Later

This powerful figure of Saint John the Baptist is shown standing with a frontal posture. His slender eyes are accentuated by the bold, stylized, parallel lines of wrinkles on his forehead. The Saint’s hair is partially shorn, tucked behind his substantial ears, and long and parted on the back. His simple robe falls in straight, vertical folds, revealing his bare feet below (not included in online image). He holds the emblem of the Agnes Dei, the lamb of God, in his proper left hand.

While the arrangement of St. John’s drapery is more geographically generalized, it is characteristic of French sculpture from the 13^th century onward. The physiognomy, however, is specific to the region of Upper Lorraine, what was once called Lotharingia.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. A. Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth, Die lothringische Skulptur des 14. Jahrhunderts : ihre Voraussetzungen in der Südchampagne und ihre, Petersberg, 2005;
Ralph Melcher (cur.), Lothringische Skulptur des 14. Jahrhunderts, exhibition catalogue, 14 May to 30 July 2006, Museum in der Schlosskirche,   Petersberg, 2006;
Fabienne Joubert, La Sculpture Gothique en France XII-XIII siècles, Paris, 2008