Icon, Saint John the Forerunner - Wood - 19th century

Saint John the Forerunner, Greek, 19th century, tempera on wooden board, size 36x25. Representations of St John the Forerunner as an angel derive from the passage from Isaiah, quoted at the beginning of the Gospel of Mark: 'Behold, I send my messenger (Greek angelos) before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee'. Orthodox Christians refer to him as the 'Angel of the Desert'. On the icon St John is depicted full-length, with wings outspread, standing on a rocky surface. A hermit, he wears a camel-hair tunic beneath a brown mantle. This image is typical for the Moscow iconographic type. With his right hand Saint John makes a gesture of blessing; in his left hand he holds an opened scroll together. The earliest representation of the winged Saint John in Byzantine art, painted in 1295, is to be found in the Saint Achilles Church in Arilye in Serbia. Good condition with wear, losses, restorations and damages.