The Preaching of St John the Baptist in the Desert
by STANZIONE, Massimo, Oil on canvas, 187 x 335 cm
This painting is part of a series of canvases with scenes from the life of St John the Baptist which were executed for the Buen Retiro palace. Some paintings of the series were painted by Artemisia Gentileschi.
Stanzione was one of the leading Neapolitan painters of the Caravaggio school. His style is a more graceful and elegant form of Caravaggism.