Bust of a Youth (Saint John the Baptist)
Francesco Mochi (Italian, 1580–1654)
1630-40
- Medium
- Marble on variegated black marble socle
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- 40.5 × 33 × 29 cm (15 7/8 × 13 × 11 3/8 in.)
- Culture
- Italy
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Credit line
- From the collection of the estate of Federico Gentili di Giuseppe; purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Harold T. Martin through the Antiquarian Society; Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment; through prior gift of Arthur Rubloff;…
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This work might appear to be a portrait, but the costume and expression indicate that it represents a mythological or biblical figure. The young man is shown in the act of speaking, his mouth open as if caught mid-sentence. This detail suggests that the figure is likely Saint John the Baptist; one of his roles was that of a preacher who foretold the coming of Jesus Christ. The dramatic turn of the youth’s head suggests that he is addressing an unseen conversant, a dynamic and inventive means of engaging with the viewer. The sculpture’s small scale indicates that it was likely made for private contemplation.
The figure’s deeply carved corkscrew curls, soft skin, and parted lips are all characteristic of the sculptor Francesco Mochi, whose work is notable for its energetic lines, dramatic movement, and subtle psychology. One of the most talented and individual sculptors in seventeenth-century Rome, Mochi possessed an extraordinary technical aptitude both in carving marble and in depicting carefully nuanced expression in his figures.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
