John the Baptist, Angel of the Wilderness
Still represented against a rocky background, suggesting the wilderness, or a neutral one, John the Baptist as Angel of the Wilderness is represented as an emaciated, ascetic barefooted character in a frontal posture, either standing or torso. He is dressed in a furred animal leather, draped around the body, or in a long wavy fur, over which may be added a cloak chromatically ranging from red to brown. The ascetic face is characterized by large, expressive eyes, hollow cheeks, a narrow pointed nose, long, wavy tangled hair and beard. The complexion is olive and sun-burnt. Usually he is holding a thin staff, topped by a standard or a cross. The emblematic trace of this iconographic theme is represented by the pair of angel wings the character is depicted with, symbolizing John the Baptist’s vocation as God’s messenger (the literary meaning of the word “angel”) cf. Matthew 11:10 and Mark 1:2.
Still represented against a rocky background, suggesting the wilderness, or a neutral one, John the Baptist as Angel of the Wilderness is represented as an emaciated, ascetic barefooted character in a frontal posture, either standing or torso. He is dressed in a furred animal leather, draped around the body, or in a long wavy fur, over which may be added a cloak chromatically ranging from red to brown. The ascetic face is characterized by large, expressive eyes, hollow cheeks, a narrow pointed nose, long, wavy tangled hair and beard. The complexion is olive and sun-burnt. Usually he is holding a thin staff, topped by a standard or a cross. The emblematic trace of this iconographic theme is represented by the pair of angel wings the character is depicted with, symbolizing John the Baptist’s vocation as God’s messenger (the literary meaning of the word “angel”) cf. Matthew 11:10 and Mark 1:2.
