Kilka uwag na temat ikonografii Jana Chrzciciela w sztuce paleologowskiej

Agnieszka Piórecka

doi:10.21697/an.16217

Published: 2025-12-29

No. 9 (2025)

Some thoughts on the iconography of John the Baptist in the Palaiologan art

Agnieszka Piórecka

Artifex Novus

Section: Artykuły tematyczne

https://doi.org/10.21697/an.16217

Abstract

Depictions of John the Baptist were widespread in the Eastern Church, resulting in rich and varied iconography. Beginning with art after the fall of iconoclasm, the frequency of his depictions is surpassed only by those of Mary and Christ. Information about the life of John the Baptist can be found mainly in the apocryphal gospels. They refer to his childhood, as well as the meeting of Christ or his parents, before going to the desert. His teachings play a significant role in his life. Moreover, the figure of John the Baptist is a central component of the Deesis and is also depicted as the Angel of the Desert. The widely popular Western motif of the Forerunner with a Lamb vanished from Eastern iconography following the Council in Trullo in the 7th century. His role as an ascetic is emphasized by melota, and his himation refers to the prophet Elijah, as he is often described.

Keywords:

John the Baptist, Angel of the Desert, life of Saint John, teachings of Saint John

Similar Articles

1 2 3 > >>

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Download files

PDF (Język Polski)

Citation rules

Piórecka, A. (2025). Some thoughts on the iconography of John the Baptist in the Palaiologan art. Artifex Novus, (9), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.21697/an.16217

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Biblia Tysiąclecia, wyd. IV, www.twojabiblia.pl.
Google Scholar

Protoewangelia Jakuba, oprac. i tłum. ks. Marek Starowieyski, w: Apokryfy Nowego Testamentu. Ewangelie Apokryficzne, cz. 1, red. ks. Marek Starowieyski, Kraków 2003, s. 266–290.
Google Scholar

Żywot św. Jana Chrzciciela przypisywany biskupowi egipskiemu Serapionowi, oprac. i tłum. ks. Mariusz Rosik, w: Apokryfy Nowego Testamentu. Ewangelie Apokryficzne, cz. 2, red. ks. Marek Starowieyski, Kraków 2010, s. 588–613.
Google Scholar

Branicka Monika, Ikona św. Jana Chrzciciela – Anioła Pustyni z Orzechowej w zbiorach Muzeum Budownictwa Ludowego w Sanoku, „Materiały Muzeum Budownictwa Ludowego w Sanoku”, t. 35, red. Henryk Olszański, Sanok 2021, s. 23–50.
Google Scholar

Branicka Monika, Skrzyniarz Sławomir, Nieznana ikona Jana Chrzciciela Anioła Pustyni z początku XVII wieku w Muzeum Sprzętu Gospodarstwa Domowego w Ziębicach, „Ars Vetus et Nova”, t. VI: Sztuka średniowiecznego Wschodu i Zachodu. Osiągnięcia i perspektywy poznawcze u progu XXI wieku, red. M. Smorąg-Różycka, Kraków 2002, s. 83–96.
Google Scholar

Brubaker Leslie, Inventing Byzantine Iconoclasm, Bristol 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472540768
Google Scholar

Carr Annemarie Weyl, The Face Relics of John the Baptist in Byzantium and the West, „Gesta”, vol. 46, 2007, No 2, s. 159–177. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/20648951
Google Scholar

Carr Annemarie Weyl, Lamb of God, w: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan, vol. 2, Oxford 1991, s. 1171.
Google Scholar

Corrigan Kathleen, The Witness of John the Baptist on an Early Byzantine Icon in Kiev, „Dumbarton Oaks Papers”, vol. 42, 1988, s. 1–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1291587
Google Scholar

Haring Walter, The Winged St. John the Baptist Two Examples in American Collections, „The Art Bulletin”, vol. 5, 1922, Issue 2, s. 35–40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.1922.11409729
Google Scholar

Hodne Lasse, The Turledove: a Symbol of Chastity and Sacrifice, „IKON Journal of Iconographic Studies”, vol. 2, 2009, s. 159–166. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1484/J.IKON.3.39
Google Scholar

Irmscher Johannes, Kazhdan Alexander P., Trombley Frank R., Carr Annemarie Weyl, John the Baptist, w: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan, vol. 2, Oxford 1991, s. 1068–1069.
Google Scholar

Kitzinger Ernst, Byzantine Art in the Making. Main Lines of Stylistic Development in Mediterranean art 3rd-7th century, Cambridge 1995.
Google Scholar

Lavin Marilyn Aronberg, Giovannino Battista: A Supplement, „The Art Bulletin”, vol. 43, 1961, Issue 4, s. 319–326. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.1961.10790239
Google Scholar

Masseron Alexandre, Saint Jean Baptiste dans l’art, Paris 1957.
Google Scholar

Metzsch Friedrich-August von, Johannes der Täufer. Seine Geschichte und seine Darstellung in der Kunst, München 1989.
Google Scholar

Petterson Ševčenko Nancy, Himation, w: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan, vol. 2, Oxford 1991, s. 932.
Google Scholar

Romanowska-Zadrożna Maria, O ikonie uskrzydlonego św. Jana Chrzciciela z Buczacza, „Cenne, bezcenne/utracone”, t. 42–43, 2005, nr 1–2, s. 6–9.
Google Scholar

Sdrakas Euangelos D., Johannes der Täufer in der Kunst des Christlichen Ostens, München 1943.
Google Scholar

Tınaz Işık Eflan, Kanatlı Olarak Betimlenen Vaftizci Yahya Figürü, „Art-Sanat”, vol. 12, 2019, s. 421–455. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26650/artsanat.2019.12.0013
Google Scholar

Vojvodić Dragan, Wall paintings of the st. Achilleos church in Arilje, Beograd 2005.
Google Scholar