Saint John the Baptist in the desert

This painting was realised by Bartolomeo Schedoni, who was originally from Formigine, but became a well known painter in Parma under the patronage of the Farnese court. The main feature of his production is the ability to merge a geometrising construction of shapes with the use of a strongly contrasted direct light, influenced by Caravaggio. Here, Schedoni portrays Saint John the Baptist seated on a cornerstone while holding a cane and pointing at the apparition of Christ next to a river, set in an exquisite nocturne landscape.